Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith recently discussed how the UFC takes care of their fighters, after Smith revealed the love and consideration he has received from the organization due to the recent loss of his mother.
'Lionheart' stepped into the octogon last month on a three-fight winning streak to face Magomed Ankalaev in a light heavyweight bout. Smith lost the fight via TKO in the second round, however, it appeared as though his movement was compromised from the early minutes of the fight. The 34-year-old would later confirm that he broke his ankle.
The bout at UFC 277 was also Anthony Smith's first fight since his mother tragically passed away.
On the latest episode of the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' discussed his injury, the passing of his mother and the kind gestures of the UFC.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
"When my mom passed away and during the time she was really sick, I had a bunch of obligations for the UFC. They basically came to me and said 'We know you want to do this, we know that you will do this, but we're not going to allow you to'... And they paid me for it, for all of them. Just because I've got a bum leg and it hurts, I owe it to them to keep my obligations now."
'The Count' responded by adding:
"I always get accused of being a UFC sh*tter, but what you just said there.... That's the type of things the UFC do that doesn't make the headlines... You get looked after, they do care and they do have a f*****g heart."
Catch the full episode here:
Anthony Smith responds after Dana White mistakenly said he didn't suffer a broken ankle
Anthony Smith had to respond to MMA fans and the UFC president after Dana White mistakenly told journalists he didn't think the light heavyweight contender had suffered a broken ankle.
After Smith's second-round TKO loss at UFC 277, during the post-fight press conference, White told the press that Smith only thought he had an injury due to being caught by a heavy kick.
Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the 34-year-old revealed what he believes was the reason the UFC president downplayed the extent of his injuries.
"It's not Dana's fault because he just asked a question right there sitting at the press conference and that was the answer he got. I don't know who's in control of releasing people's medical information, especially on live broadcast, but I thought that was weird because that's not what the doctors said anyways in the hospital."
Catch the full episode of The MMA Hour here: