Becoming a Legend Killer
If reputation is now king in the UFC there is a clear way to get recognized and that is by winning impressively.
Part of winning impressively is winning against impressive opponents and impressive opponents are usually ones with big reputations themselves.
There are so many different ways for young fighters to find their way and all have very different risks and rewards.
Many of the younger fighters take the slow road as they look to move up the rankings slowly by fighting guys around their own skill level.
This is the best way to move up as it lets the young fighter develop into a much better fighter through a number of good fights.
They are constantly making progress towards the top of their divisions with fights that are not as risky.
It is also a slow process as they don’t necessarily shoot up the rankings by fighting people who are similar to their own skill level.
These fighters often have to put up impressive win streak to get noticed and usually before they can find their way to the title they need to fight some big names and take a jump.
Hopefully, the fights that they have had before then are enough to prepare them for the big fights that help them get to the title.
There are also the fighters who make a name for themselves on other promotions and make enough noise to earn a spot on the UFC roster.
These fighters generally come in against big-name opponents and make their name quickly although they do come into a lot of pressure.
Anthony Smith was a fighter who began taking the first path to being something special in the light heavyweight division.
He took on a number of smaller names and began working his way up to being a contender but then the danger of that run came into effect.
He took a loss to Cezar Ferreira and the momentum he had built went away quickly and he became just another fighter.
Smith went back to the old way of building himself up putting together another good winning streak against mostly unknown guys.
Still, he was gaining that momentum back that he had lost and as a result, people were beginning to take notice.
Then came that issue once again as he took a loss to Thiago Santos halting his progress for the second time.
The bigger fights seemed to be the difference as he never seemed to be able to take that step up in competition.
Just as he was getting to the place he needed to a big fight would come and he would take the loss preventing him from moving to a new level.
After his latest loss, he took a different approach to find his way towards a title shot by taking big names rather than a slow build.
It was a risky strategy as he had taken bigger fights before and usually, those big names meant a loss for the younger fighter.
His first attempt at that new strategy came in June when he took on Rashad Evans, the former light heavyweight champion.
Evans wasn’t necessarily the toughest matchup as he had been struggling and nearing the end of his career but a big knockout win was enough to put Smith on the radar.
Without taking much damage he chose a quick turnaround, signing on to fight a month later after the main event at UFC Fight Night 134 was cancelled.
Smith got the change to fight another legend in Mauricio Rua who had been quietly putting together his own winning streak.
Although he might not have been considered a top contender due to his lack of activity, he had won three in a row and was calling to be the next in line.
Smith took the fight hoping that two quick wins against two of the biggest names in the division would be enough to put him right in line.
The plan worked out in his first fight back from a loss and it continued to work this time around.
Smith came out aggressive right away as he pressed Rua and landed some great shots early in the first round.
Eventually, a head kick put Rua back and Smith jumped at the chance unloading more shots and putting Rua against the fence.
The knockout win was a big one for Smith as he put a second former champion on his record in only two months.
The win is sure to boost his reputation and get him close to that title conversation while he sure to get big fights from now on after quickly becoming a legend killer.
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