Anthony Smith claims he relates to Dan Hooker wanting to quit MMA in the immediate aftermath of loss at UFC 257

After Dan Hooker loss to Michael Chandler at UFC 257 Anthony Smith recently revealed via @RJcliffordMMA that he relates to Dan Hooker's post fight thoughts in the immediate aftermath of the loss. In an interview with Submission Radio, Hooker confessed that he was so frustrated with his knockout loss to Michael Chandler that he almost decided to quit MMA.

Anthony Smith claimed that he understands what it feels like to lose the biggest fight of your life having dropped the light heavyweight title shot to Jon Jones at UFC 235:

"There's a very small population of people that knows what it feels like to lose the biggest fight of your life."

The loss against Michael Chandler put Dan Hooker on a two fight losing skid inside the Octagon. Prior to the fight against Chandler, Hooker dropped a narrow decision loss to Dustin Poirier in a five-round classic back in July last year.

Dan 'The Hangman' Hooker was seen taking off his gloves during the official announcement of the co-main event at UFC 257, inside the octagon, which led the commentators to wonder whether he was planning to hang up his gloves for good. However, Hooker cleared all such doubts in his interview with Submission Radio where he opened up about his feelings in the aftermath of the loss:

"You’re always frustrated after a loss. (It was) a balance of everything. Sheer frustration, you’re disappointed, and in that moment I was like, ‘I’m done! I’m finished with this sh*tty sport! I’m done!’ Then you get back to the hotel and you think about it and you realize you’re not good at anything else either, so it’s like well. I’ve kind of painted myself into a bit of a corner here."

Dan Hooker has told the boys at @SubmissionRadio his removal and throwing of his gloves after his #UFC 257 loss to Michael Chandler was not him retiring. He did it out of ‘sheer frustration.’pic.twitter.com/Bxucm51iNl

— Chisanga Malata (@Chisanga_Malata) February 1, 2021

Why Anthony Smith can relate to Dan Hooker

Anthony Smith is a 32-year-old Mixed Martial Artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. He has had a professional MMA career spanning over 12 years and according to his recent interview, has been training since the age of 17.

🔊 "What skills do you acquire in MMA that are applicable to regular life? ... None."@lionheartasmith tells @RJcliffordMMA that he relates to Dan Hooker's post-fight thoughts after losing to Michael Chandler at #UFC257 pic.twitter.com/MsbUa9dkWE

— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) February 3, 2021

He also went to talk about the mental strength required to stay the course in a mixed martial arts career. Anthony Smith believes that there are no skills to be learnt through MMA that can be implemented in everyday life. Anthony Smith has a UFC record of 34-16-0 and managed to pick up a submission win with a triangle choke against Devin Clark in his last fight.