Anthony Smith is back in the win column.
“Lionheart” retired from UFC competition last year, losing his final three bouts in fairly one-sided fashion. Smith didn’t last long on the sidelines, however, opting to return to action in Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA promotion. Not only did he sign up for a fight, but Smith joined in the 16-man $500k Heavyweight tournament.
On Friday (April 10, 2026), Smith headlined the event versus fellow UFC veteran Chase Sherman from Ovalo Feria Ganadera in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was a big question mark how the recently retired Smith would perform up at Heavyweight against a foe with plenty of bare knuckle experience, but “Lionheart” absolutely shined!
The fight began with a lot of lead hand lands from Smith. He popped Sherman with the jab repeatedly and cracked him with counter left hooks when Sherman tried to push forward. Before too long, Sherman was bloodied up from Smith’s accurate punches. He was really getting chewed up and tried to wrestle in desperation, resulting in Smith landing in top position.
Once on top, Smith quickly advanced to mount. After threatening an arm triangle submission, Smith landed a few elbows to convince Sherman to turn his back, resulting in a quick rear naked choke submission.
Check out the video highlights below:
This was really impressive work from Smith! On paper, Sherman’s size advantage, power, and heavy low kicks presented a real threat to Smith, who has looked quite hesitant in recent years. In practice, it was a one-sided beatdown. The time away and step back in competition clearly paid off for Smith, who looked very comfortable in the Gamebred MMA cage.
Does he have what it takes to win the whole tournament?
