“I was in hell. I was living a f— nightmare,” confessed Anthony Smith in a raw conversation with Ariel Helwani, reflecting on the devastating loss of his coach and close friend, Scott Morton. The tragedy hit ‘Lionheart’ harder than any opponent ever could. When he stepped into the cage against Dominick Reyes at UFC 310, Smith absorbed punishing shots, but none stung like the emptiness left behind by Morton’s passing. That fight wasn’t about rankings or redemption. It was survival. Now, months later, Anthony Smith is set to make his final walk to the Octagon at UFC Kansas City. But the real question lingers—has he finally found peace?

After his battle against Dominick Reyes, Anthony Smith understood that he doesn’t have to linger around the past to find happiness, and it’s time for him to say goodbye to his career. The Texas-born will be entering the Octagon one final time at UFC Kansas City against Zhang Mingyan on April 26. However, is he happy with his retirement?

While having a conversation with Ariel Helwani, Anthony Smith confessed his real feelings on retirement as he emphasized that for the first time in his life, he is content with everything. “I don’t mean this to sound cocky or arrogant, but I’ve never, until now, felt like I’ve done something worth celebrating. I’ve never felt like I should be celebrated. It’s never been a thing that I’ve ever looked for. But I feel like now, I’ve put in a career that I should be proud of, and I deserve to be able to celebrate it and be happy about it.”

He further added, “Whether I didn’t win a world title or not—that was always the goal. I didn’t think I’d ever be happy if I didn’t win it. But I found myself in a place where I didn’t win the world title, and that’s okay, because it wasn’t for lack of effort. I tried really, really, really fu–ing hard, and I’m just going to celebrate what I was able to do. I came from nothing.”

Anthony Smith had one of the grittiest journeys in the realm of UFC. After being cut from the UFC roster back in 2013 after a submission loss to Antônio Braga Neto, Smith vowed to get back in the UFC, and guess what, three years later, he barged into the UFC roster like a pro. Smith racked up brutal knockouts and high-profile finishes, including back-to-back stoppages of legends Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. His amazing run at the UFC earned him a title shot against Jon Jones at UFC 235. Smith did lose the battle against Jones, but he earned respect from the fans by refusing to take an easy disqualification win after an illegal knee from the then-champion ‘Bones.’

After that, Anthony Smith’s career was a rollercoaster ride, from submitting Alexander Gustafsson in enemy territory to suffering a brutal knockout loss against Glover Teixeira. With a career record of 38 victories and 21 losses, ‘Lionheart’ will finally hang up his gloves in Kansas. But why is Smith fighting a young fighter? Let us find out.

Anthony Smith explains why the UFC pitched him against Zhang Mingyang

Generally, when a UFC fighter retires, he is matched up against a well-known name within the promotion; however, this was not the case for Anthony Smith. For the former title challenger, there are no legacy fights or a big name, but a newcomer with a record of three fights under the UFC. But why? Well, according to Smith, it’s all business, and he is ok with it. “It’s a business decision, which I understand. But I think you can be honest with me and not hurt my feelings.”

He further added, “[Zhang is] a really tough up-and-comer, but I think they’re unsure of where he really is in terms of his skill set and how good he actually is. He’s hard to match up because guys that are in his similar position, those guys, all these young guys, [they say] they’ll fight anybody. They’re full of s***. They want the older, aging veterans. They’re trying to catch us on our way out. They don’t want to fight each other that bad because they’re unsure of the same thing. They don’t know how good they actually are.”

As for Mingyang, who has 11 first-round finishes by the way, Smith said, “I didn’t know him, I never heard his name — and looked him up briefly, and liked what I’d seen.”

With just days remaining until the actual fight, Anthony Smith is feeling nostalgic about his UFC debut and everything he has accomplished in the promotion. Has he done enough to walk away with his head held high? Let us know what you think in the comments.