Polarizing Ex-UFC Star Anthony Smith Arrested on Three Felony Charges in Home State of Nebraska

Former UFC fighter and current desk analyst, Anthony 'Lionheart' Smith was arrested by local law enforcement on Monday night.

Polarizing Ex-UFC Star Anthony Smith Arrested on Three Felony Charges in Home State of Nebraska

Anthony Smith arrested on three felony charges (Image via MMA Fighting/TMZ)

The MMA community was shocked to its core when news emerged of the arrest of retired UFC star Anthony Smith. The former UFC title challenger was arrested in his home state of Nebraska. 

According to a report from TMZ, the arrest happened on Monday night around 9 PM. The retired fighter was placed into a local county jail after officials booked him and took his mugshot. 

Smith faces three charges in the form of domestic violence, terroristic threats, and false imprisonment. These are concerning charges as domestic violence alone can carry up to 20 years in prison. 

However, as of now, no bodycam footage is available for the public to see, unlike the recent Dustin Poirier incident. So far, his wife has also not released a statement, nor has the local law enforcement revealed more details about the case. 

Smith retired from the UFC last year in April after suffering a first-round TKO loss to Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas City. Nevertheless, he competed in a bare-knuckle MMA bout this year and defeated Chase Sherman via submission. 

The UFC veteran is a polarizing figure among the MMA community. Despite showcasing toughness throughout his career, fans felt that ‘Lionheart’ goes overboard with his criticism as an analyst. His criticism of Alex Pereira is the best example, one where he caught flak from ‘Poatan’ and the fan base.

So far, UFC and Paramount have yet to make a statement. After all, Anthony Smith works as a desk analyst for Paramount+ after the company secured the rights to UFC events for a record $7.7 billion deal. 

Recently, Dustin Poirier lost some of his sponsorship deals following his arrest incident, but was able to keep his Paramount+ job. However, due to the severity of the charges that Smith faces, it remains to be seen if Paramount keeps him around moving forward. 

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Anthony Smith, trauma from home invasion and accusation against his opponent during a fight

The last six years of Anthony Smith’s life have had plenty of ups and downs. The UFC veteran fought off a home intruder early morning at 4 AM back in 2020. He unloaded an array of punches on the intruder, Luke Haberman, to protect his wife, mother-in-law, and three daughters.

Much to the surprise of the 61-fight MMA veteran, Haberman didn’t go down without a fight and was able to absorb the punches and keep fighting till the police showed up. Smith later remarked that neutralizing the threat of the intruder without a weapon remained a harrowing experience.

Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker in 2023 attracted controversy
Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker in 2023 attracted controversy (Image via MMA Fighting)

This terrifying home invasion brought trauma to Smith moving forward. It was most evident when the former UFC title challenger fought Johnny Walker in 2023. The three-round UFC on ABC 4 bout saw Smith accuse his opponent of attacking his family, leaving Walker confused.

A week after their bout, Walker went on Instagram to state that he was still confused and defended himself from the accusation of attacking Smith or anyone’s family. The American fighter did not address this incident publicly after accusing Walker inside the octagon.

The only statement that he made was about his future following the bout and denied thinking about retirement. This didn’t stop fighters and fans from analyzing what happened during the three-round bout.

Fans felt that Smith used the past traumatic experience as some sort of motivation to pull off a victory from the jaws of defeat. Smith was getting beaten up pretty much the entire fight, and that was when he made the accusation.

Fast-forward to 2026, fans have speculated CTE-related issues as a possible reason for Smith’s arrest in Nebraska. The years of wear-and-tear have affected fighters like BJ Penn, Wanderlei Silva, and Diego Sanchez, among others.

It remains to be seen if Smith’s arrest came from troubles involving CTE as more details are likely to come out in the coming days.

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