UFC Fighter Anthony Smith Had An All-Out Brawl With An Intruder During A Scary Home Invasion – The Self Defense Company

UFC Fighter Anthony Smith Had An All-Out Brawl With An Intruder During A Scary Home Invasion

UFC Fighter Anthony Smith Had An All-Out Brawl With An Intruder During A Scary Home Invasion

 

Article courtesy of  Robbie Fox, ESPN and Barstool Sports

ESPN- Smith said in an interview with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Monday that he woke up just after 4 a.m. local time Sunday to a stranger in his Omaha-area home. The UFC light heavyweight said he tried to subdue Haberman for more than five minutes while waiting for the police to arrive.

Haberman did not steal anything, Smith said, and it was unclear why he was in the house. Smith and his family — he lives with his wife, mother-in-law and three daughters — were not injured. Smith described the incident as “terrifying” and called it “one of the toughest fights” he has ever had.

Smith said his wife woke him up and told him there was a man in the house. Smith said he could hear a “man’s voice screaming at the top of his lungs.” Smith left the bedroom, turned a corner and saw Haberman in a computer room.

Smith said Haberman walked toward him and it seemed like he was trying to scare him. Smith was concerned the man had a weapon. Smith said he tried to take him down and the two began fighting.

“I didn’t know what he had,” Smith said. “Typically people don’t break into your house in the middle of the night for any good reasons. I’m expecting that I’m gonna hear a gunshot or he’s gonna stab me. Like he’s got something. I figure I’ve got about two minutes before whatever he’s got takes me out.”

Smith said his main goal was to protect his family. His wife gathered the children and took them to a bedroom and closed the door. Smith fights at 205 pounds and walks around heavier than that. Somehow, he said, this man who weighed around 170 pounds was still coming at him, an elite UFC fighter, for minutes.

“No normal human is able to fight like that,” Smith said. “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. And he took everything that I gave him — every punch, every knee, every elbow. He took every single one of them and kept fighting me.”

At one point, Smith said, his mother-in-law brought him a kitchen knife, which he held to Haberman, who continued to fight him, Smith said.

When the police arrived, officers were able to subdue Haberman, Smith said. He said there was blood all over the computer room and Haberman was cut up and had swelling on his face.

According to Smith, Haberman told him, “Hey man, I’m sorry” as he walked by after things calmed down.

Smith said he experienced a wide range of emotions afterward, including anger and then fear that someone had targeted him. He no longer thinks that’s the case, but there is confusion about what the man wanted. Smith said his neighbors had video footage of Haberman trying to enter their homes, and he succeeded in entering another home before being scared away.

He entered Smith’s home through an open garage door.

“I’m not lying when I said it was one of the toughest fights I’ve had in my whole life,” Smith said. “I went into that fight ready to die. Nobody smart breaks into a house in the middle of the night unarmed. … When they break in at night, it’s to hurt people.”

Well HOOOOOOLLLLLLYYYYYY SHIT! This story is absolutely wild from start to finish.

Basically, it sounds like some lunatic on drugs was trying to break into a bunch of houses on one block – he succeeded in breaking into one, got scared away by the owner – and then he got into the home of UFC Light Heavyweight Anthony “Lionheart” Smith through an open garage door. Once he got in there, he started screaming nonsense from “deep within” himself, as loud as he could, until Smith went into the room he was in and started to fight him.

Narrator: It was at this moment that this crazed psycho realized that he had wandered into the wrong house.

Once they began fighting, Smith, who is a fuckin legit Light Heavyweight contender (fights at 205lb, probably walk around closer to 225lb), said this little guy (170lb) took every shot he had to throw at him. Every punch, elbow, knee – everything. Smith, who has fought Jon Jones before, said it was one of the toughest fights he’s ever had in his entire life, and even feared he was being targeted for a bit because of it! He’s since come to the realization that it probably wasn’t targeting, but still – one of the toughest fights he’s ever had in his entire life! 

I’m sure the adrenaline and the fear of the unknown play as big a factor in that as any, but it’s still very interesting for me to hear an elite fighter say that after a home invasion brawl with an unarmed high lunatic. Who knows what kinda hyperzombie bath salts homeboy coulda been on. Smith said the guy also claimed he was armed and had others in the house as they were fighting too. Terrifying.

Eventually, the police arrived to help Anthony Smith subdue the guy, and the intruder just apologized when it was all said and done. Straight up hit Lionheart with a, “Hey man, I’m sorry”, as he got walked on outta by police.

More than anything, I’m glad Smith and his entire family made it outta this thing alright. What a fucking horrible and scarring thing to have happen to such a great guy and his loved ones right now. Thank god he had a lifetime of training for that very moment.

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Published by Damian (Instructor)

Founder, The Self Defense Company

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11 Comments

    1. It did work on some level because the “average Joe” most likely would not have faired as well and might have been killed or severely injured. On the other hand, it did not “work” for the same reason that most fighting sports and martial art training systems fail in the real world…they are for sport. They don’t teach the most brutal and effective techniques being executed with the mind set of “kill or be killed” and they focus on winning or subduing an opponent with a similar mind set and size as well as similar training. When faced with an assailant who is willing and able to kill and the “fuel” of drugs or desperation, those constraints lead to restraint because that is how they are trained. I believe in training instinctive and convulsive responses to neutralize a threat, not subdue it until the police arrive, because that approach has the highest probability of ending in my own survival and the safety of my family. This man’s training is likely the only reason that he and his family faired as well as they did, but, when chosing to prepare for self defense I fall back to the words of my first military trainer. He said “Martial arts are fun and often pretty, but here we don’t train you to fight. We train to survive and kill because that is what you have to expect the other guy has trained for as well.”

    2. SNS Activation. When real lives are at stake, your body and mind will only allow you to do a few basic things. This is why we keep it simple AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.

      It’s out of the ring, and the lives of his loved ones are on the line. This is a tough situation and if you’re training and preparation lacks that INTENT, your chance of failure increases dramatically.

      This kid probably never even thought about this happening – he never envisioned someone breaking into his house and putting together a plan. This is mind setting that I believe EVERY member here does.

      But again – with all of his training…his mind is programed to BEAT his opponent at a specific time and place. He does not train to INJURE or KILL the enemy by any means necessary. Big difference.

      He is no doubt a TOUGH kid and at the end of the day, just because he fought back, he survived and WON. But you’re right, where did all of that training go? Right out the window when SNS gets flipped on.

  1. This is why self defense is not sport. I believe you’ve written about the difference between the two. I’m glad I’m a member of the SDTS

  2. Ditto Robert. Bad guys don’t tap out. When protecting your family you put them down and that is different than fighting.

  3. This is yet another nonsensical news “story.” The amount of things in it that make no sense is, again, over the top. As a rule, all news stories are Bravo Sierra until proven otherwise. BUT: these stories are still useful as training scenarios or thought exercises–the same way I view movies, for example.

    BTW: The MOST realistic movie fight scenes are those in which zombies are being fought. That’s hilarious to me, but TRUE! And how do they usually have to kill zombies? Head shots of some kind. Or, cut out their structure by taking out a leg or ankle and THEN head shot.

    Anyways, this story involves this character known as “Lionheart” doing pretty much everything wrong that you could do wrong. Interestingly, his daughters’ bedrooms appear to have locks on them, which is interesting..

    If someone breaks into your house, you have ONE objective: Kill them as fast as possible. Which is within 5 seconds of physical contact. Or less. Five seconds is an eternity.

    As you should know from the SDTS, you assume the guy has weapons, he has unseen friends, and also you MUST assume he is there to kill you. Like, if someone points a gun at you, you must assume they want to kill you. A woman once pulled a gun on me in a road rage situation – her rage, not mine – but she didn’t point it at me. I told her that if she did point it at me I would kill her – and I meant it. I tell people to never use a gun to threaten; you only use a gun to kill. Because, if you threaten the wrong psycho… Another reason I absolutely do not like pain compliance methods. Another case where if you use that on the wrong psycho..

    I once heard a top tier special forces guy from some country talking about snapping some bad guy’s arm in a house during some raid–and the guy didn’t give a shit. The soldier almost died as a result.

    You’re ONLY objective is to kill. Logically, this must be the case. This same soldier mentioned how after he adjusted his mindset, he would go into every battle HOPING to kill EVERYONE, but then he would ease off the trigger when he encountered innocent people and such. This sounds sick but it’s not. It’s easier to back off at the last split second, then to have to ramp up psychologically.

    I have a saying: Killers don’t fight. If you’re objective is to kill, and not to fight, you approach things far more efficiently, brutally, and effectively.

    There’s the idea of being “triggered.” Which has gotten a negative rap from all the people who take offense at everything. But triggers are good provided they’re appropriate. I mean, when I’m hungry, I’m triggered to eat.

    You have to set triggers to kill. That is important. I’ve had to watch it a few times during this “novel,” “presumptive” corona unicorn horseshit when a couple of times I’d be at an ATM and some clown would approach me from behind wearing a mask. And that sets off a trigger. I don’t go into some blind rage–quite the opposite, but it’s a highly focused and calm rage, if you will. For an instant, until I realize they’re just another hapless stooge wandering by.

    It is a concern, though, with a lot of people walking around wearing masks. If this isn’t one of the greatest security risks of all time, I don’t know what is. You’d think mass shooters and terrorists and professional criminals would just be salivating to take advantage of this. But, heh – one unicorn at a time.

    The character known as Lionheart in this story said a few things that are not advisable:

    – He didn’t get angry until afterwards
    – He believed he had TWO minutes to deal with ONE guy
    – He fought the guy for five minutes
    – He held a knife to the guy at some point–that his wife thoughtfully delivered to him

    I couldn’t make it all the way thru the interview. The amount of nonsensical horseshit is overwhelming, and I value my brain cells. So, I’ll just hit the basic important ideas in such a scenario.

    And, btw, sport fighting is fixed fighting. That doesn’t mean they don’t make each other bleed, or that they don’t hurt each other. It means they’re getting paid to put on a show. General idea here: The people who get paid the most in this world are the biggest and most influential liars. THAT’S why they get paid the most. I hate to break the news, but if you’re watching the NFL thinking that a team can legitimately come back from 25 points down in a Super Bowl…then you should watch wearing a mask.

    So then, ACTORS are not necessarily bad ass in real life. They might be great athletes and so forth. Is your favorite action hero equipped to deal with a REAL home invader? Can Steven Seagal or Jean Claude Van Damm really beat up my sister? Unlikely.

    I saw the video of the alleged intruder, Haberman, screaming in front of the neighbor’s house. Whether this was staged or not, the second that guy started screaming I was already mentally killing the guy. That set me off internally. Fake or real, the scenario is possible, and it’s helpful to use it as an internal training exercise. So when that clown started screaming I felt a very intense level of viciousness. But a very calm, cold sort of focused viciousness. The kind where you started scanning his body for targets to focus all the energy of an incoming train through.

    THAT’S the feeling you have to cultivate. It’s not a sport when someone breaks into your sacred domain in the middle of the night. They have just FORFEITED THEIR LIFE. Understand that. They have been sent to you to be destroyed. You’re not trapped in the house with them; they’re trapped in YOUR house WITH YOU.

    I have a habit of giving random strangers rides. Homeless–whatever the case may be. And people occasionally say, “aren’t you worried about who you’re letting in your vehicle?” I’m like, “What they hell are you talking about? They’re getting in the car with ME!” Just cuz I give em a ride doesn’t mean I’m not prepared to deliver them to God and instead of their presumed destination.

    In our socially distant and soft time, killing people is frowned upon. But if some evil cunt should so happen to violate your abode one night, consider it a privilege and duty to humanity to rid the earth of their presence.

    Now in this story, apparently Mr. Lionheart, upon hearing the screaming intruder, just charged right at the guy. And readily admitted that he did this presuming he had two minutes to live because the guy might have a weapon.

    This is idiotic. Someone breaks in, you advance on them –but under cover. You get as close to them as you can without being observed. They’re on YOUR ground. You know the territory. They do not. You get as close as you can unobserved, and then you let them come the rest of the way TO YOU. At which point you ambush them and kill them in ideally two seconds.

    My favorite close quarters weapon is the 8oz ball pein hammer. $25 at Home Depot. It’s light enough to move like a knife, but blunt force trauma IS KING and it can deliver one shot kills. So you can crack it across a wrist holding a weapon and destroy that wrist. You can hit em in the head or neck and kill them instantly.

    Or you can just peek out with a shotgun when they’re a couple feet away and blow their fuckin head off.

    Cuz remember, you must assume they have weapons and associates. SO: after you kill that first guy, you’re STILL in stealth mode, and now you’ve got to clear the REST of your house. Inside AND out. The first guy’s dead –don’t slip in the blood. Soft drop stepping is how you move. You now advance as you would thru the woods. Move from cover to cover, softly, stopping to listen. The first guy dying will likely draw one or more associates.

    This is guerrilla warfare in your house. You’re a killer, NOT a fighter. You are going to ambush, and keep ambushing, as your basic principle of engagement. If you can shoot em in the back of the head with your shotgun —totally awesome. Your mindset is “I cannot wait to kill these fucking cunts…” BUT: you move in a highly disciplined fashion.

    And remember: Drywall is concealment, NOT cover. So if your location is revealed, you MUST move to another location because, again, you assume they have weapons that can shoot thru drywall.

    I remember the idiotic ambush laid for the Germans in the movie “Saving Private Ryan.” I remember thinking how stupid it was to put a sniper in the clock tower. Why? Cuz five seconds after that idiot starts shooting, the Germans are going to take out the fucking clock tower. The clock tower is a trap set for yourself! You pick locations that you can get the fuck into and out of quickly and in multiple ways. Think geometrically.

    So You hit and move. Hit and move. When you’re not moving and listening, moving and listening. Moving and cover, moving and cover. Basic principles. Move slow, but attack fast. You don’t just start charging thru your house like a fool. Stairways are a huge problem. I would practice moving up and down your own stairways in different ways going from and to cover, cuz those are dangerous. In many cases, I would likely climb out of a window and drop down outside my house rather than use a staircase. Plus, that gives you more element of surprise. Just be careful where you drop. Drop into coverage if you can.

    Mr. Lionheart did everything wrong that you could do wrong — if you believe the story. I think he also said he was trying to take the guy down. I think all this marketing and obsession with BJJ is ultimately putting people at risk. And a fundamental of all physical movement — for sport or warfare– is BALANCE. If I know how to control my balance, what good is all your BJJ? You just need to control your balance long enough to kill them. So, they can grab a leg like a dog while you hit them in the head with a fuckin hammer. Ten years of training to build a delusion.

    Killers don’t fight. Killers don’t fight. And killers use deception. Killers will feign weakness and pretend to be losing just for that ONE opening they need to kill you.

    So, a very important part of self defense training is TARGETING. Maybe the most important. You could have the greatest striking and grappling techniques ever, but not employ them against the right targets.

    To be even more efficient, train with the mindset of one or two shot killing strokes.

    Now, practically speaking, what’s the easiest way to do this if you have NO weapons?

    Target the throat. If you just knock someone out and they wake up, you’re in trouble. You have to train to kill. Again, we’re assuming multiple assailants. You can’t have a guy you took out coming back up behind you again.

    You may have noticed that animals, when they want to kill, generally only go for one or two targets. Animals are efficient killers — they’re not looking to waste time. They only screw around amongst themselves–but the difference between play and killing is HUGE. One common target is the throat and neck –especially on bigger game.

    So, I think the throat and neck is THE primary target. And you may use another shot merely to open that up. Like an eye gouge to expose the throat, for example. Many different ways to get into the throat and neck.

    Also, the ankles might be the greatest overlooked target ever. You can take out the brain, or take out the structure first and then the brain. The body can’t stand on a destroyed ankle. Stomping thru an ankle is child’s play. A woman can do it. A woman can also crush the throat after sticking a thumbnail into the eye. This is not quantum mechanics.

    If you train to kill in a few seconds, this will streamline your options and training greatly. Instead of learning and practicing a bunch of cool shit, you distill it down to a few things that will kill.

    One of the greatest fighters of all time was Dieselnoi Chor, a Muay Thai fighter. This guy was very tall and literally just perfected the art of kneeing the shit out of everyone. Now, to be intellectually consistent, Muay Thai fights are as fixed as any others, but I still can recognize good techniques and skills. Like, Michael Jordan could still dunk from the free throw line. So Dieselnoi rarely punched or did anything except knee you to death.

    Similarly, you need to just perfect like 3 to 5 techniques which integrate best with your physical stature and abilities and such. You don’t HAVE to like or use EVERY technique that you learn. BUT you do have to focus solely on killing the enemy you fear the most in under five seconds. It may not actually happen in real life, but logically that HAS to be your objective.

    If someone breaks into your house, they have literally forfeited their right to exist. So, it’s important to have the correct mindset. And then to have correct principles. And THEN to have the FEWEST and MOST effective techniques which are tailored to yourself.

    The primary target is the throat. Then neck/jaw/ear line. Set ups are eyes and ankles. Maybe groin, but groin is overrated. Back of the neck is also overrated. I mean, if you JUST thought throat and ankles, how much brutal effectiveness would you have? And THAT’S the ultimate high/low variation as well.

    Think in terms of kill shots and set ups for kill shots. Eyes are setups and allow you to steer the head wherever. The neck might be a kill shot but the throat is definitely a kill shot. Ankle isn’t a kill shot, but completely destroys structure and balance. Then as they go down you smash their head into the corner of a door casing or whatever. Chin jab is probably more of a set up than a kill shot in a tight space.

    Consider also that in the cramped hallway of a house, there’s little room to maneuver. To wind up, to drive a person here and there. To get leverage.

    Efficiency and targeting and mindset very important. These you acquire BEFOREhand. Keep it as simple as you possibly can.

    How fast can I kill? And how am I personally most capable of doing so? What do I target for optimal chance of success?

    These are the only sane questions to be asking and answering. How hard is a forearm into the throat from a chick doing a Yoga pose? This stuff doesn’t need to be complicated. You can always back off, but you can’t ramp up.

    A friend once was in an altercation where he found himself in a position to easily snap the other guy’s neck. But he said a voice in his head told him not to. I believe him. But an example of backing off instead of ramping up.

    Most guys who get in fights you’ll observe trying to psyche themselves up. What you’ll see is a period of mutually insecure posturing between two narcissists until one gains the psychological edge over the other, at which point the one with the edge then sucker punches the other guy.

    We, however, are the opposite. NO posturing. No reaction. And then: BOOM, lights out.

    A great movie illustrating my mindset is “The Drop,” with Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace. Observe the difference between the characters of Bob and Eric. You want to be Bob. And “no one ever sees Bob coming.”

    I could ramble on but I will not. I view stories like this as social engineering, personally. But I reverse them for my own benefit. I believe the great clown Joe Rogan stated that Mr. Lionheart should have choked out the intruder. I won’t even dignify that with a retort…

  4. Sorry about your Incident glad you and your family are safe . Thank you Jesus!! Remember the Enemy never sleeps. The devil was certainly at your house that night so sad what drugs can do on people like fighting devil . Give glory to God he had his hand on you to over come that night . Your little angles and wife was safe . God bless you and your family gives us a Different perspective in life always include God in your life that’s my advice.

  5. Hi, Damian, this the perfect example of putting self defence on the same level as ring fighting etc. Many people don’t think about the fact THERE ARE NO RULES IN THE STREET!! What Anthony said is pathetic, considering that he is a famous fighter. How do people like that ever win fights? Another question, why did he, or his wife not phone the police immediately? I’m glad nothing bad happened to him or his family, he should definitely think of contacting you for his future security.
    I tried to add this statement to your comments page but the system discarded it 3 times. I love what you are doing Damian, stay safe,
    Regards, Ragnar.

  6. This, and the attack on the doctor’s family in Conn. last year, show that your home is not protected IF the bad guys can get in without your knowledge. Alarms and barred windows and doors have to be used. Even drugged- psychos may run when the alarm goes off. Something scared him off of the first house. Plus, many alarms call the police themselves. This will get them there sooner. L-5

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