A previous UFC light heavyweight title adversary of Jon Jones has racked up just shy of 60 pro MMA bouts and has experienced some wild things along that journey including competing at a particular adult entertainment establishment. Anthony Smith had an MMA career that covered nearly two decades and during that run, 'Lionheart' at one point found himself throwing down in an environment where the fighters weren't the only ones going topless.
This was something that the former UFC light heavyweight title challenger was discussing on his podcast On Paper as Smith said [via Sherdog],
“I fought at a strip club while the ring girls were strippers. It was great. It was amazing, like, just the atmosphere of it was insane. I only think it’s amazing because now I can tell the story… It was crazy. On a Wednesday. They would run them one Wednesday a month. They have like a fight night.”
Jon Jones vs. Anthony Smith and how the story of their fight unfurled
Jon Jones and Anthony Smith would battle over the sport's richest prize for 205 pound athletes in March 2019. This UFC light heavyweight title fight served as the headliner of UFC 235 with Smith entering the octagon on the heels of a three fight winning streak that saw him finish a trio of former champions and title challengers. Anthony Smith secured consecutive first round striking-based finishes over former UFC light heavyweight titleholders in Rashad Evans and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua before a third round rear naked choke finish of former 205 pound title challenger Volkan Oezdemir to secure his own crack at the gold.
For Jones, he was looking to notch the first title defense of this particular reign with the UFC light heavyweight title after finishing Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch at UFC 232 for the vacant crown. When the dust settled for the pay-per-view headlining clash between Jones and Smith, it would be the former who would hear the refrain of 'and still' echo throughout the arena as Jones retained his title by way of a unanimous decision against 'Lionheart'.
