A man named Luke Haberman was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal trespass after breaking into the Nebraska home of UFC fighter Anthony Smith. The incident took place early on Sunday morning and resulted in Haberman being beaten. Although, Smith did refer to it as one of the “toughest fights” he has ever been involved in.
Smith told ESPN that Haberman broke into his house just after 4 a.m. His wife woke him and said that there was a man in the house “screaming at the top of his lungs.” Smith went to investigate and found Haberman in his computer room. He then tried to take down the intruder, which led to a fight of more than five minutes while waiting for the police to arrive at the scene.
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“I didn’t know what he had,” Smith said to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani. “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 is a light heavyweight that has defeated some of the UFC’s big names, including Rashad Evans. However, he discovered that Haberman was able to take all of the hits despite weighing around 170 pounds. Smith’s goal was to protect his wife, his mother-in-law and his three young daughters, so he kept fighting.
“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.”
As the fight continued, Smith’s mother-in-law brought him a knife from the kitchen. He held the sharp instrument to Haberman, but the intruder continued to fight him. When the police arrived, they discovered the computer room covered in blood. Haberman was cut and had swelling on his face.
The authorities told ESPN that Haberman was issued a citation and was released to the hospital. He was not taken into custody but must report in court at a later date. Smith also said that Haberman later apologized for the incident as he was leaving the Nebraska residence.
“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. … You always just think you’re such a bada—. I just don’t feel like one. I feel … insufficient a little bit. I didn’t know it was possible to be that terrified.”
Smith first felt that he may have been potentially targeted, but he no longer believes that to be the case. His neighbors had video of Haberman attempting to enter various homes on the block. He later entered Smith’s home through an open garage door. The UFC fighter later told ESPN that he feels better about Haberman entering his home instead of the others on the block considering that he is a professional.
Following the break-in on Sunday morning, Smith is continuing to train for his upcoming bout. He is scheduled to face off with Glover Teixeira as the main event of UFC Lincoln on April 25. Whether this takes place remains to be seen due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but Smith said that he is still training and will be ready.
