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Things didn’t end well for former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith in his most recent fight at UFC 277 against Magomed Ankalaev. Not only did he end a three-fight win streak, he also broke his ankle in the process.
But that’s not the worst part. According to “Lionheart,” his path to recovery has been rocky, to say the least.
In his recent interview with MMAFighting.com’s The Writer and Fighter podcast, Smith said his ankle had already healed up and that he’d been off crutches for two weeks now. He is, however, dealing with other health issues.
“I don’t even know if I’ve mentioned it too much but the night before I went to Paris [for UFC Paris], I had a weird allergic reaction to some meds. It was pretty hairy there for a little while,” he revealed.
“It was a really bad anaphylactic reaction. I was losing my airway, I couldn’t swallow. I was having a tough time breathing. Kind of barely got to the hospital in time before things got too rough. Then after I got back from Paris, they found a blood clot in my leg. So I’ve been battling this blood clot for a while.”
At first, Smith refused to believe that he was, indeed, dealing with a blood clot.
“It’s a pretty big deal and I didn’t really know that. You don’t really think about those kinds of issues when you’re my age when you’re healthy and active.
“Now I’m extremely versed in blood clots. You definitely don’t want one of those kicking off into your lungs or your brain or your heart. Blood clots don’t just go away overnight. It’s a long ordeal, typically. Your body has to absorb it, that takes time and the blood thinners, you can’t really do anything on blood thinners.
“You can’t take any shots to the head out of fear of brain bleeds. I can’t even get massages because they don’t want to dislodge it and send that son of a bitch straight to my lungs or something. That would be a problem. You just never know what can happen. So that sucks.”
Smith was planning his return for January, but the blood clot situation has left him in limbo. And that has been a frustrating situation to deal with.
“It’s like I’m just getting f–d around every corner. I try to look at it as positively as possible. Maybe it’s just my turn. I’ve been super fortunate. I’ve grinded really hard and put a lot of work in and was super active for a lot of years. Maybe it’s just my turn to struggle a little bit.
“Chris Weidman has always dealt with that his whole entire career. He’s kind of been injury ridden and struggled staying healthy and getting through camps healthy. I just bring him up because we’re such good friends so I know the intricacies of his career and his path.
“It could be worse. I could be battling through some of the things he’s battling through. Trying to keep a positive mindset about it. It’s tough when you’re in it.”
The 34-year-old Smith currently holds a win-loss slate of 36-17.
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