UFC CEO Dana White (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
UFC President Dana White and company often look to reward veterans with longevity who have proven to be rugged fighters and have always been willing to take their assignments without much resistance.
Longtime UFC contender Anthony Smith (37-21) fits into that category. Smith is hanging up the gloves, and he recently announced his retirement, including an opponent he described as “out of left field.”
Smith, 36, will end his UFC journey in a matchup against Chinese KO artist Mingyang Zhang, per MMA Fighting. The fight is set for UFC Kansas City on April 26.
Smith was a guest on Submission Radio, where he shared his feelings about the matchup, though he didn’t reveal the name or date.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – MAY 04: Anthony Smith poses for a portrait after his victory during the UFC … [+]
“I’ve got a name and a date already – out of left field, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “It wasn’t on my bingo card, that’s for sure. But then you dig into it, and it makes a lot of sense why they picked that one. I think they were more focused on the matchup and the potential of what the fight would look like, and less about names and legacy and all that stuff. And actually, that kind of fits my personality more. I don’t really care about how big of a name it is so much. Or I cared about what type of fight I was going to have in my last one, and I’m pretty excited about this one, and it’s not far from home. I obviously can’t drop anything, but it’s close enough that anyone that would want to be there would have no problem getting there.”
Mingyang, 26 has an 18-6 MMA record and he is 2-0 in the UFC. He has 11 consecutive wins, and all of them have come by stoppage–nine by KO.
ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 17: Zhang Mingyang of China celebrates defeating Brendson Ribiero by … [+]
Mingyang vs. Smith makes a lot of sense. The UFC is looking to find out what it has in Mingyang, and Smith is the perfect guy to test his mettle—even on his way out the door. Smith derailed Vitor Petrino in May 2024 when the veteran made the Brazilian KO artist look docile, defeating him easily in the first round via submission.
Petrino has looked broken ever since. He lost his next fight via third-round KO at the hands of Dustin Jacoby in December 2024.
Can Smith break Mingyang? That’s what we’ll find out while also saying goodbye to one of the most prolific and hard-working fighters in UFC history.
What’s Next For the UFC?
The card has been through the ringer, but it is still happening on Saturday. Believe it or not, UFC Seattle still looks pretty good on paper. Here is the card.
UFC Fight Night Seattle – February 22 on ESPN+
- Henry Cejudo vs. Song Yadong – Bantamweight (135 lbs)
- Brendan Allen vs. Anthony Hernandez – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Rob Font vs. Jean Matsumoto – Catchweight (140 lbs)
- Jean Silva vs. Melsik Baghdasaryan – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Alonzo Menifield vs. Julius Walker – Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
- Andre Fili vs. Melquizael Costa – Featherweight (145 lbs)
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Ibo Aslan – Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
- Nursulton Ruziboev vs. Eric McConico – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Ricky Simón vs. Javid Basharat – Bantamweight (135 lbs)
- Nick Klein vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik – Middleweight (185 lbs)
- Nikolay Veretennikov vs. Austin Vanderford – Welterweight (170 lbs)
- Modestas Bukauskas vs. Raffael Cerqueira – Light Heavyweight (205 lbs)
