Anthony Smith is headed for surgery after suffering a broken ankle in his fight against Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277 this past Saturday night.
Smith confirmed the news in a text to MMA Fighting on Tuesday following initial news posted by Ariel Helwani.
Despite UFC president Dana White stating that the one-time title contender suffered “no fracture” during the fight, Smith’s injury was ultimately a broken ankle that will force him to go under the knife.
Smith injured his ankle when he threw an awkward leg kick in the middle of round one.
Smith kept fighting through round one, despite the injury to his ankle. He made it all the way to round two and was finally on the ground. Ankalaev finished Smith with strikes after he couldn’t stand.
Of course the UFC has seen similar injuries in recent years including a pair of devastating broken legs suffered by Chris Weidman and Conor McGregor after they also threw kicks that resulted in catastrophic injuries.
Smith broke his ankle, but it was not a fracture. Smith will be able to return to the UFC in the near future.
The loss to Ankalaev ended Smith’s three-fight win streak that put him back in title contention as he sought to compete for UFC gold again after falling short in his first bid to become champion after falling to Jon Jones back in 2019.
There’s no word yet how long the broken ankle and subsequent surgery will keep Smith sidelined.
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