Watch: Anthony Smith's post-fight interview gets interrupted by news of training partner Chris Weidman breaking his leg
Anthony Smith was in the middle of his post-fight interview when he received news of Chris Weidman's gruesome injury at UFC 261. Smith, who had just dispatched Jimmy Crute with a vicious leg kick, was severely disturbed by the news as he trained with Weidman ahead of UFC 261.
A choked-up Anthony Smith recalled his training sessions with Weidman ahead of UFC 261 and expressed his dismay at the latter's bad luck.
“F**k man... F**k. I did some of my training camp with Weidman. I said this during the week, I don’t know how Chris Weidman has ever lost a fight after training with him. He’s the best guy I’ve ever trained with. He just can’t catch a break," said Anthony Smith.
Anthony Smith questions the whole point of fighting
Anthony Smith was then asked to put things in perspective and he responded by highlighting how an injury can impact a fighter’s career. Questioning the whole point of engaging in the sport, Anthony Smith also talked about how much work fighters like Chris Weidman put in ahead of a fight.
"Chris Weidman even admitted that he hasn’t always put the work in. He’s cut some corners, especially when he was champion. You start thinking you’re so good you don’t have to work as hard as everyone else. The thing that sucks is that, on top of injuries, he really put the work in this time. Just imagine being Chris Weidman, you spend weeks and weeks and weeks training for this, you leave your family, just all the sacrifice, the pain, the sleepless nights and early mornings to go in and like your body does not just hold up," said Anthony Smith.
Smith admitted that he hadn't seen the footage of Chris Weidman breaking his leg, but felt the reaction of the crowd was enough for him to imagine the extent of the injury.
"I haven’t seen it yet and I’m not sure I want to. But by the reaction of the crowd, it’s pretty disgusting. For just a bone to break and you don’t get a shot... that sucks, man. It’s going to suck and he’s probably going to have surgery, right? He’s probably going to feel that for the rest of his life, like just to hear those cheers—that’s crazy to me. I don’t know why the f**k we do this sometimes, to be honest with you," said Smith.