"Anthony Smith is a beast for continuing to fight" - UFC fighters and fans react to 'Lionheart' seemingly heading into R2 against Magomed Ankalaev with a broken leg
![Magomed Ankalaev and Anthony Smith opened up the main card of UFC 277 [Image credits: ufc.com]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/07/a2ae0-16592389961869-1920.jpg?w=500)
UFC 277 turned out to be an unfortunate night for light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith as he suffered a leg injury in his fight against Magomed Ankalaev on the main card of the event.
The injury seemingly occurred in the final moments of the first round. 'Lionheart' struggled to fight to his full potentital in the next round. Anakalev capitalized on the opportunity and scored a TKO victory in the second round.
Several MMA fighters and personalities took to Twitter to share their thoughts on what went down between Ankalaev and Smith.
Alan Jouban said it was a "shame" how things unfolded in the light heavyweight matchup.
That’s a shame it ended that way
The ankle injury could have came at the end of round 1 when Anthony was blocking the kicks off his back. #UFC277
Interestingly, UFC middleweight Derek Brunson teased an eventual move up to light heavyweight.
Feeling cute , might fight 205 later !
Belal Muhammad also commented on the unfortunate turn of events, saying Ankalaev's name should be in discussion for a title fight.
Man sucks to see a fight end like that Anthony looked motivated but ankalaev showed he belongs in title talks
Jamahal Hill wished 'Lionheart' a speedy recovery in his tweet.
🏿Damn another injury smh heal up @lionheartasmith!!! 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
One Twitter user praised Smith for continuing the fight despite the injury.
Anthony Smith is a beast for continuing to fight with a broken leg. Ankalaev wants a shot at the title and adds some spice to the 205 pound weight class with that win. #UFC277 #TheMainEvent
A few more tweets from MMA fighters, personalities and fans on the fight can be seen below:
Those hammer fists were hard 💥 💥💥 #UFC277
Hard luck for Anthony Smith seems like he broke his ankle and it cost him that fight.
#UFC277 https://t.co/IATKq5Emss
Anthony Smith walked past press row and said he broke his leg throwing his last kick of the first round.
Anthony Smith definitely injured his Ankle-aev #UFC277 #MMATwitter https://t.co/BFFnZh81vl
Anthony Smith is being helped out of the Octagon by his team. He is noticeably limping. #UFC277
With his win over Anthony Smith, Magomed Ankalaev is now 9-1 in the UFC
Magomed Ankalaev is on an incredible run in the UFC's light heavyweight division. With his victory over Anthony Smith at UFC 277, the 30-year-old extended his winning streak to nine.
Ankalaev's only loss came in his UFC debut against Paul Craig. However, the Dagestani has seemingly grown leaps and bounds since then.
With his win on July 30, Anakalev has made a strong case for a title shot and could possibly be next in line to fight champion Jiri Prochazka.
In a backstage interview after the fight, Anakalev said that although he deserved to fight for the championship belt next, he would be open to fighting someone else, given that the opponent is also in contention for a title shot.
"I'm the type of fighter that'll accept all the fights. Honestly, in my opinion, I believe I deserve the title shot but if UFC will give me another fight, someone who's a title contender also, I'll accept the fight," said Magomed Anakalev via translator.
: ufc.com/news/ufc-277-p…“I believe I deserve the title shot next.”
@AnkalaevM says he would accept a non-title fight after defeating Anthony Smith, but he feels like he earned a shot at gold.
See every result from #UFC277 here ⬇️: ufc.com/news/ufc-277-p…