Anthony Smith suffered a second-round TKO loss to PFL veteran Jordan Heiderman in the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA in the Dominican Republic. Smith was taken down and hit with non-stop punches, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:17 of the second round in their $500,000 tournament bout. It was Smith's first fight since his July arrest in Nebraska on four felony charges, to which he pleaded not guilty on Aug. 17; he was granted permission to travel for the event. His previous outing with the promotion was an April stoppage win over Chase Sherman.
Anthony Smith's return to the cage ended in defeat. Jordan Heiderman, a PFL veteran, stopped Smith with a second-round TKO in the main event of Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA in the Dominican Republic. Referee intervention came at 2:17 of the second round, after Heiderman took Smith down and unloaded with non-stop punches in their $500,000 tournament bout.
The fight carried added weight outside the cage. It was Smith's first appearance since his July arrest in Nebraska on four felony charges. He pleaded not guilty on Aug. 17 and was granted permission to travel for the event.
Smith, 38, drops to 38-22-0. The Factory X fighter from the United States stands six-foot-four with a 76-inch reach and fights from an orthodox stance. Across his career he has landed 3.19 significant strikes per minute at 49 percent accuracy, and he averages 0.44 takedowns and 0.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes. Those grappling numbers made it notable that Heiderman was the one dictating where the fight went, putting Smith on the mat before finishing him with strikes.
Smith's previous outing with the promotion went the other way. In April, he stopped Chase Sherman. Sherman, 36, is 16-12-0 and trains out of Jackson-Wink MMA. The six-foot-four heavyweight carries a 78-inch reach and lands 6.04 significant strikes per minute at 45 percent accuracy. Smith's win over him gave him momentum heading into the tournament, which made the loss to Heiderman a sharp reversal.
Why it matters
- Smith's loss ends a short winning run under the Gamebred banner and removes him from the $500,000 tournament picture.
- Heiderman, a PFL veteran, secures a main-event stoppage on a platform that pays well and draws attention.
- The result lands in the middle of a difficult stretch for Smith, who is still dealing with felony charges in Nebraska.
- The stoppage showed a clear stylistic edge: takedown control followed by relentless ground-and-pound.
