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Former UFC fighter Anthony Smith has been barred from contacting his wife, Mikhala Renee Newman, after his arrest in Sarpy County, Nebraska, on Monday, July 27.
Smith, 38, was charged with three felonies: attempted first degree domestic violence, terroristic threats and first degree false imprisonment, TMZ Sports reported. His bond was set at $500,000 and he is no longer listed as an inmate at the Sarpy County Correctional Center.
In addition to not being allowed to contact his wife, Smith has also been barred from leaving the state as a condition of his bond.
Details of what led to Smith’s arrest are still unclear, but an attempted first degree domestic violence conviction alone could land him in jail for anywhere between one and 50 years. The terroristic threats carry an additional zero to three years in prison plus a fine up to $10,000, and nine to 18 months of post-release supervision.
The former fighter waived his preliminary hearing, sending his case directly to district court for trial, according to local WOWT.
Smith married Newman, 38, in 2019. Though they have largely kept their personal lives private, the couple shares three daughters, born in 2011, 2014 and 2017, respectively.
Smith’s home life most recently made headlines in 2020 when he fought off an intruder in his residence using a knife and his own fighting skills to fend him off.
“My wife woke me up, panicked, and said there’s somebody in the house,” he recalled to ESPN the next day. “So I jump up and I hear a man’s voice screaming at the top of his lungs. He’s not really saying anything, it was like from deep within. It was really loud…so I ran out from my bedroom. As soon as I turned the corner, standing in my computer room was a strange guy I’ve never seen before.”
Smith added that his wife went to hide the kids in their bedroom while he “ran him over and we started fighting.”
Known as one of the best fighters of his generation, Smith retired from UFC in 2025 after losing a bout to Mingyang Zhang. He briefly came out of retirement earlier this year to face Jorge Masvidal in a bareknuckle fight, winning by first round stoppage.
“There was no pressure because I don’t have to do this, I get to do this,” Smith told MMA Junkie at the time. “I know it sounds very cliche and very silly. I’m not out here saying I’m the best bare knuckle fighter in the world, I’m not saying I’m the best heavyweight in the world. I don’t give a s*** about any of that. I just wanted to have fun, and I wanted to do [it at] a place that would allow me to do that without the pressure and the foot on your neck.”
Smith currently works for ESPN as an analyst for UFC broadcasts.
