The first month of 2018 was miserable for Anthony Smith. Sure, life at home was good and the rising middleweight star was on a three-fight losing streak and on his way to Brazil to try and make it four against Thiago Santos. But the Nebraskan had other issues to deal with, namely trying to get his six-foot-four frame down to 186 pounds again.
“I wanted to work my way up the rankings, but I wasn’t getting the matchups I needed,” said Smith, who was coming off a trio of wins over Elvis Mutapcic, Andrew Sanchez and Hector Lombard.