Remember when UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja had to work as an Uber Eats Driver while fighting simultaneously just to make ends meet? Well, he’s not the only one to face the grim reality of the fight game (or fighter pay in actuality), as many fighters have gone down the exact same path. This was also true for light heavyweight veteran Anthony Smith, who’s gearing up for his final MMA fight this weekend at UFC Kansas City. Reminiscing about the journey he’s had, Smith claimed to have learnt some important things in life.

Much like Pantoja, ‘Lionheart’ also had a side job when he was actively competing inside the Octagon. You would be surprised to know that till Smith’s 36th MMA fight, he worked as a concrete finisher! And this work got even more important when he got cut from the UFC back in 2013 because he needed to feed his wife and kids, too.

“I always believed this [MMA] could be a real career. But I had to [work as a concrete finisher]. I had a family while I was chasing this dream,” Anthony Smith told ‘Home of Fight’. Furthermore, he shared a bit of important advice to up-and-coming young fighters who want to compete against the elite. Until they get to where they’re making the real money, like the big six-figure, seven-figure payouts, it might just be better to have an extra job to support their finances because fighting for money essentially diminishes the passion to become a great athlete.

“If you’re struggling, you’re grinding and you’re trying to make it to the next level, you have to have a job at the same time,” Smith continued. “And, I know this is not what people want to hear, but if you don’t, you put yourself in a situation where you’re fighting for money, and you never wanna do this because you need the money.”

But it’s important to know that working as a concrete finisher isn’t very easy. But Smith just had no other choice. And just like he said, getting released from Dana White’s promotion added a lot more pressure on him.

“I had a child, and I’ve been cut from the UFC in 2013, and I had to do a job. So, I was a concrete finisher for a long time… It was a tough grind, though. You know, work 40 hours a week,” Smith stated. But that job also led him to realize one of his personal dreams, which is buying a nice house. But how? Let’s hear from the UFC veteran himself.

Anthony Smith reveals that he now lives in his dream neighborhood

Working 40 hours a day may not have been on Anthony Smith’s bucket list, but he claims to have a “cool story” about working in a neighborhood in West Omaha, which seemed appealing to him. He spoke about watching people rest in their homes during the weekdays, which are always packed with work, leading ‘Lionheart’ to wonder what the line of work of those people could be while he was engaged in work on one of the houses. Smith wanted his own house, but at that time, it seemed impossible. But after a few years, he saw his finances grow. Now, he’s reportedly a millionaire and even has a house in that West Omaha neighborhood.

“It’s kind of a cool story. I was doing concrete one time in this really nice neighborhood in West Omaha, and I remember seeing these people walking around, you know, in the middle of the week,” Anthony Smith added. “And I remember thinking, ‘Man, what do they do for a living where they can be home all the time? I remember thinking that, ‘Man, maybe someday I could live in the neighborhood’, or something. And I now live two houses away from the house that we were working on.”

Smith’s perseverance through those tough days of grinding it at work while training has paid dividends, to say the least. He may not have won a UFC title. But he has been there among the best, spending most of his career in the Las Vegas-based promotion. As he gears up for Mingyang Zhang this weekend, he will cap off his career with his 60th professional fight. That’s quite the number of fights he’s got in his record. Let us know your thoughts on Smith’s journey in the comments down below.