Anthony Smith will be capping off his MMA career this weekend in his 60th professional bout. Taking on Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas City, ‘Lionheart’s plans to consider retirement took shape after his loss to Dominick Reyes, who he claims was right to show him no mercy, and now he aims to bow out gracefully. As he ends the exit of his career, let’s take a look at one of Smith’s relationships with a fellow UFC veteran, which was once buzzing in the MMA community.
The godfather of British MMA, Michael Bisping, successfully transitioned from being a former MMA world champion to a popular commentator on the broadcast team. His work as an analyst has also garnered acclaim in the community. For the unversed, Smith also decided to get into the MMA media world and partnered with Bisping, but their partnership was short-lived. Let’s take a look at that front.
Anthony Smith leaves Michael Bisping’s podcast
It’s quite a recent incident when it comes to Anthony Smith’s co-hosting gig with the UFC Hall of Famer. In January this year, Michael Bisping announced that the former light heavyweight title contender will be moving on from his ‘Believe You Me’ podcast and has decided to start his own show on YouTube, ‘On Paper with Anthony Smith’. Thereafter, ‘The Count’ announced that he’s got someone new filling in that spot for Smith, and it was his fellow analyst, Paul Felder.
“He’s moved on and doing his own show. Felder is in full-time on Mondays. I wish him the absolute best of luck with the show, and I absolutely loved our conversations,” Michael Bisping wrote on X. “Hopefully, we’ll be back to 2 shows a week soon also. Working on some big things.”
Well? That didn’t seem bad, did it? But the nature of their short-lived partnership sparked rumors about some kind of fallout between the duo of veterans. However, Anthony Smith has shut down all those rumors ahead of his fight against Zhang Mingyang. Here’s what he had to say.
‘Lionheart’ opens up on his relationship with the UFC Hall of Famer
First of all, there is no personal feud between Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith. Secondly, the 205lbs veteran revealed that the Hall of Famer “saved” him by getting him into the media side of things. It wasn’t until a few years ago that Smith began finding his voice in a new way—by talking about the very sport that had shaped his life. His unexpected journey into broadcasting began with guest appearances on a Sirius XM show hosted by Dan Hardy. At the time, the 36-year-old veteran had never seriously considered a career in media, but those spots sparked something, and people started to notice.
Before long, the UFC came calling! Smith was offered a chance to appear on television as an analyst for UFC’s pre- and post-fight coverage, back when the promotion was still partnered with FOX. He admitted that he was nervous heading into that first broadcast, unsure of how he’d perform under the bright lights. But he wasn’t alone! Bisping was there to help him settle into his new role and pulled the show off with flair often.
“Michael Bisping saved my a– in that gig. He gave me a crash course in desk work and broadcasting when we were at FOX,” Anthony Smith recently told ‘MMA Fighting’. “He really made me feel comfortable and helped me out a lot on that first show, and covered me. He carried me in a lot of situations. He really saved me.” While claiming to have been the first one to know if there was any beef, ‘Lionheart’ added, “We’re good. He would have told everybody — if Bisping hated me, you guys would know it. When has he ever minced words?”
Both Anthony Smith and Michael Bisping have been working together under the UFC banner for a long time. They’ve never had any fallout or back and forth ever in public, and it seems like their relationship is pretty rock solid. And it’s always wonderful to see veterans staying cordial with one another. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.
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