Matt Brown has a message for UFC fans who are losing their minds over Anthony Smith’s arrest: slow down. The 38-year-old was arrested in Nebraska on July 27, following an alleged incident with his wife the night before, and is now facing three felony charges, including attempted first-degree domestic assault, terroristic threats, and first-degree false imprisonment.

According to the Sarpy County Attorney’s Office, prosecutors allege Smith threatened to kill his wife and attempted to strike her with his vehicle following an argument at a bar. He’s scheduled to appear in court again on August 17.

Yes, the claims are serious. Matt Brown isn’t brushing them off or making excuses for his former colleague. But there’s a difference between taking the allegations seriously and reacting as if you already know the whole story, and ‘No Mercy,’ who knows Smith personally, thinks plenty of fans have crossed that line.

“This one does cut a little bit deeper than a lot of these other incidents that happen,” he told MMA Fighting. “So, you know, being that Anthony Smith is a, he’s a respectable guy. I mean, so does Dustin Poirier, which again, we don’t have to go back to that, but, like, I have a personal relationship with him.

“He’s always been a great guy to me too. I’ll tell you what turned me off on this whole thing was the family reaction when I read the comments.”

“But this fan reaction like really bugged me,” he continued in the interview. “And then these fans got, like I’ll say it as clear as I can, these motherf—– need to lay off Anthony Smith, right? And that’s not me; I’m not gonna defend what happened. We don’t know what happened yet, but I’m not gonna defend it because cops were called, and his wife was certainly feeling something that she shouldn’t have been feeling.

“It’s not a good situation. So I’m not gonna say there should not be accountability, but we weren’t there, and neither was a hundred percent of the people that are confidently judging his life from headlines and social media posts.”

Brown was direct about what he wasn’t doing.

“That doesn’t mean I’m gonna defend what happened. We don’t know what happened yet, but I’m not gonna defend it because cops were called, and his wife was certainly feeling something that she shouldn’t have been feeling. It’s not a good situation. So I’m not gonna say there should not be accountability, but we weren’t there, and neither was a hundred percent of the people that are confidently judging his life from headlines and social media posts.”

Smith’s situation has generated significant discussion given his standing in the sport. He challenged Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 235 in 2019, losing a unanimous decision he could have ended early by claiming an illegal knee, and retired from competition after a first-round loss to Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas City in April 2025. He’s remained with the promotion as an analyst since, which is part of why the arrest landed as hard as it did for people who’ve followed his career.

Dana White also weighs in on Anthony Smith’s arrest

UFC CEO Dana White addressed Smith’s arrest while speaking to The Mac Life, admitting the news caught him off guard.

“Well, he’s one of those guys, too, you don’t expect to see that happen,” White said. “From personal experience, it can happen to anybody. I don’t know enough about it. I don’t know enough of the details. I’ve been on the road this whole time, but I just hope it works out for him and his family and his kids.”

White’s reference to personal experience points back to his own 2023 incident, when video surfaced of him slapping his wife during a New Year’s Eve altercation at a nightclub in Mexico.

Smith has not made any public comments about the charges. He was released on $500,000 bail and is barred from contacting his wife while the case proceeds. Whatever the court decides on August 17 and beyond, Brown’s point stands apart from the outcome: accountability can run its course through the legal system without turning someone’s worst moment into content.