Getty Donald Cerrone
According to top-ranked UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Dan Bilzerian had an altercation with his mother and wife years ago.
Smith spoke about the incident during a recent episode of Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “Lionheart” said it occurred during UFC 235 in March 2019, when he competed for the 205-pound belt against then-champ Jon Jones.
Smith’s supporters, including his mom, were sitting in the front row of the Las Vegas event. Cowboy, a shoo-in UFC Hall of Famer, and Bilzerian, a famous social media influencer, attended the event as well, Smith said.
Lionheart told Bisping that Cowboy and Bilzerian were drunk and insisted that the seats Smith’s wife and mother were sitting in were theirs.
“My mom, my wife, my manager’s mom, and like two other people in my group are sitting front row,” Smith explained via Low Kick MMA.”Very front row, Dana (White’s) section. I’m in the Octagon, and while this is happening, Jon Jones is making his way to the Octagon. So, Dan Bilzerian and another fighter he was hanging out with…”
“Donald Cerrone?” Bisping interjected.
“It was Donald Cerrone,” Smith answered. “So they’re together, I figured a lot of people would read between the lines, but it’s gonna sound like I’m s******* on Donald Cerrone too, and maybe I am a little bit.
“They come and they wanna sit down and watch the fight, but they’re f****** hammered. Like, just s***house drunk. And so, they (Bilzerian and Cowboy) tell them that those are their seats. So, my mom doesn’t know Dan Bilzerian or Donald Cerrone. My wife knows who Donald is, but she doesn’t know him, and she doesn’t know who the f*** this short, tight shirt, funky-a** hat-wearing guy is. She has no idea he’s like a millionaire.
“She just knows that these are her seats and she’s about to watch her son fight for a world title.”
Smith Said His Wife & Mom Were ‘Removed’ From Their Seats By Cowboy & Bilzerian
According to Smith, his group and the drunken duo engaged in a verbal back and forth that led to Lionheart’s mom and wife losing their seats to Cowboy and Bilzerian. Smith was “furious” after hearing about what had transpired, and the fighter said that if he saw Bilzerian, he would have “torn his head off.”
“Literally Dan Bilzerian and Donald Cerrone removed my mom and wife from their seats, while I’m getting ready to fight Jon Jones,” Lionheart continued. “I was f****** furious. Had I seen Dan Bilzerian – because I had found out about it right after I got to the back – and if I had seen him then, I would have f****** torn his head off, I was so mad.”
Lionheart said that he has never spoken to Bilzerian and Cowboy about the incident.
Smith Said His Wife & Mom Still Got to Sit in the Front Row & Bilzerian Was Watching Porn on His Phone Right Next to His Mom
In the end, Smith’s family watched him fight Jones from the front row.
“I’m telling it super fast just for show purposes, but they go back and forth, and he’s being a dick,” Smith continued. “Turns out that they just made everybody slide, so they slide the whole row so that my mom and wife could still be close and in that front row.
“But, like, for whatever reason, Donald and Dan Bilzerian wanted those exact goddamn seats.”
According to Lionheart, Bilzerian, who was sitting next to Smith’s mom, was watching pornography on his phone while the contest was going on.
“Dan ends up being next to my mom,” Smith said. “And he’s like, during the fight is watching porn on his phone. During the fight, he’s like sitting there watching porn. So mom’s super uncomfortable.
“She’s weirded out. She’s like a quiet lady, very shy. It was just a whole f****** ordeal.”
Smith ultimately lost the title fight to Jones via unanimous decision.