Dominick Reyes reveals unusual in-cage request from an emotional Anthony Smith during their UFC 310 fight

Dominick Reyes, showing respect for Anthony Smith's emotional state, shared his thoughts on their recent fight. The pair competed in the UFC 310 preliminary card headlining bout on Dec. 7, and Reyes emerged victorious with a second-round TKO.

Smith, who is coping with the passing of his teammate and coach Scott Morton, said that it was difficult for him to walk out to the fight. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Reyes said that he could feel the difference and added:

"There was a point in the first round when he put his hands down and was just like, 'Punch me in in the face.' And I obliged, right? So that's my job is to finish you and get you out of there."

When asked if it was challenging for him to fight knowing Smith's state of mind, Reyes responded:

"Whether you're going through something or not, whether you're going to give me free shots or not, I'm going to hit you. We're professional fighters and this is a very dangerous game. God bless Anthony. All the best to him, prayers for him and his team and the teammate he lost. Losing someone is never easy. I've lost some really close people to me this year as well and it's terrible. I'm glad he got to come out and be the warrior that he is."

Check out Dominick Reyes' comments below (2:18):

Morton, 47, was a renowned jiu-jitsu black belt and coach from the grappling and MMA scene in Nebraska. He tragically passed away due to a sudden heart attack a few weeks ago when Smith was training with Ray Longo and the team in preparation for the Reyes fight.

Speaking about his relationship with the late coach in a recent interview with the UFC, Smith said:

"Him and I have trained every day or twice a day, damn near an average, six days a week since I was 17 years old. And he was my coach, but that was one of the smaller parts of what he was. That guy was my best friend. He was my mentor / older brother / father figure." [H/T ufc.com]

Following his second-round TKO defeat against Reyes at UFC 310, Smith expressed that the loss was still hard to cope with and mentioned that he might consider retiring from competition.