UFC’s light heavyweight division had an elite showdown when Anthony Smith locked horns with Johnny Walker this past weekend. The May 13 co-main event saw Walker overwhelm ‘Lionheart‘ with leg kicks in what was a grueling back-and-forth. Eventually, the Brazilian got the nod from the judges as he secured a unanimous victory over Smith.
However, more than the bout result, fans seem to buzz about a bizarre moment that happened mid-fight. Anthony Smith hurled some strong accusations at Johnny Walker, much to the Brazilian’s and viewers’ confusion. Smith appears to say, “You’re attacking my family,” as Johnny responds back with – “What?!”
Anthony Smith: “You’re attacking my family”
Johnny Walker: “… WHAT?”
💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/Q0zPXYRbZH
— Trevor Peek Stan Account (@TrueCrimeAndMMA) May 13, 2023
When asked to speak on the same during the post-fight presser, Walker said, “Yeah, I have no idea. I don’t understand. Then after[wards] I understand a little bit.” To double down on his confusion, Walker took to Twitter to repost the strange exchange with the caption, “What the f**k ?”
Although the clip spread around as a funny moment at first, fans soon started pointing out the idea that Smith may have been experiencing some sort of PTSD.
UFC middleweight Chris Curtis believes Smith’s home invasion from 2020 may have cast a trauma on him. He believes that the effect must have been severe enough for the 34-year-old to develop PTSD mid-fight.
I genuinely think that home invasion may have scarred Anthony Smith more than we think. I can’t get the you attacked my family line out of my head. Like, that is a man drawing on ptsd mid fight…
— Chris Curtis The Action Man (@Actionman513) May 14, 2023
Others believe that Anthony was purposely using the past trauma to reignite a seemingly lost motivation mid-fight. At the announcement of his loss, Smith appeared dejected. Neither did he give a post-fight speech nor appear at the presser afterward. It would surely be interesting to know his comments on the now-viral moment.
This fight marked a second straight loss for the former title challenger since a TKO injury against Magomed Ankalev. Aside from his congratulatory wishes to Walker on Twitter, Smith has yet to comment on his recent loss.
What went down during the home invasion of Anthony Smith?
Back in early April 2020, Anthony Smith faced the toughest fight of his life, one that happened outside the Octagon. Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, the Texas native detailed a story in which he admits he was willing to die to keep his family safe.
As per the UFC star, he was fortunately home with his wife and children during the time of the invasion. Around 4 a.m., his wife woke up to an intruder at home. During the terrifying experience, Smith was worried about whether the intruder had any weapons on him that could threaten the UFC fighter’s family.
Elaborating on how the brawl unfolded, ‘Lionheart’ revealed how strong the stranger was. “I’m not lying when I said it was one of the toughest fights I’ve had in my whole life. I went into that fight ready to die. Nobody smart breaks into a house in the middle of the night unarmed. When they break in at night, it’s to hurt people.
“I had a hard time dealing with him. And he took everything that I gave him. Every punch, every knee, every elbow. He took every single one of them and kept fighting me.” Anthony fought him for nearly five minutes before the police arrived and apprehended the intruder.
.@lionheartasmith says he’s still ready to fight on 4/25 even after he fought off an intruder at his home over the weekend. This is video for the suspect after he allegedly broke into another man’s home before going to Smith’s. Smith describes what happened.@3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/mGwSlTjimo
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) April 9, 2020
Smith said it was a frightening experience that has left him and his family terrified. “You always just think you’re such a badass. I just don’t feel like one, I feel insufficient a little bit. I didn’t know it was possible to be that terrified,” said Anthony.
The intruder turned out to be Luke Haberman, a former high school wrestling champion from Nebraska, which explains his ability to grapple with Smith. The police later charged Luke with first-degree criminal trespass.