UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith had an incredible performance at UFC on ESPN+ 11 in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday, June 1 when he faced off against former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson.
Smith and Gustafsson went back and forth for three rounds before Smith was able to pull off a stunning submission win.
While Smith was able to pull off the win, what was not previously known was that he suffered a gruesome hand injury early in the fight which resulted in a complete fracture.
“Flew deep into enemy territory,” the light heavyweight wrote on social media. “Broke my hand in the 2nd round. Still performed against the odds. Whatever it takes. I finish fights. #LIONHEART ”
Here is a photo of the injury Smith will now need to recover from before returning to the cage:
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByVwLKjJ9HM/
With the win, Smith advanced to an impressive 32-14 in his professional mixed martial arts career. Prior to his win over Gustafsson, Smith suffered a decision loss to light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. He had previously been on a three-fight winning streak with victories over former title contender Volkan Oezdemir and former champions Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Rashad Evans. The win over Evans was Smith’s debut in the 205-pound division.
The full results for UFC on ESPN+ 11 can be seen below.
UFC on ESPN+ 11 Results
https://www.instagram.com/p/ByKxeJPlvtc/
- Anthony Smith def. Alexander Gustafsson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 2:38
- Aleksandar Rakic def. Jimi Manuwa via knockout (head kick) – Round 1, 0:47
- Makwan Amirkhani def. Chris Fishgold via submission (anaconda choke) – Round 2, 4:25
- Christos Giagos def. Damir Hadzovic via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
- Daniel Teymur def. Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Sergey Khandozhko def. Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Lina Lansberg def. Tonya Evinger via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
- Leonardo Santos def. Stevie Ray via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:17
- Frank Camacho def. Nick Hein via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:56
- Bea Malecki def. Eduarda Santana via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:59
- Devin Clark def. Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Joel Alvarez def. Danilo Belluardo via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 2:22