Ex-UFC star-turned ESPN analyst Anthony Smith, 38, arrested in Nebraska for domestic violence and terroristic threats

Former UFC star Anthony Smith is behind bars in Nebraska after being arrested on three different felony charges.

Smith, 38, retired from the UFC in 2025 with a 38-22 record, but is now making headlines for all the wrong reasons after being picked up by cops on Monday night.

In jail records obtained by the Daily Mail, Smith was arrested on three different charges: terroristic threats, false imprisonment (1st degree) and domestic violence causing serious bodily injury.

There are no further details of what happened, or who the alleged victim is, but the latter charge alone carries a jail sentence of 20 years if Smith is found guilty, according to TMZ.

Smith is understood to still be behind bars at the Sarpy County Jail after his arrest shortly before 9pm on Monday, and a bond has not yet been set.

A mugshot was released by cops, and it showed the MMA icon staring down the lens wearing an orange inmate jumpsuit. 

Smith – who was nicknamed Lionheart during his career – previously made headlines outside the cage in 2020 when he confronted an intruder at his Nebraska home in the middle of the night.

As later revealed by Smith, his wife was woken at 4am by a stranger in their home, before the UFC star fought the man for five minutes until cops arrived.

The intruder was later revealed to be a former high-school wrestler, and Smith said: ‘I’m not lying when I said it was one of the toughest fights I’ve had in my whole life.

‘No normal human is able to fight like that. I’m by no means the baddest dude on the planet. But he’s a regular Joe and I had a hard time dealing with him. 

‘He took every punch, every knee, every elbow. He took every single one of them and kept on fighting me.’