When they touched gloves Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 153, light heavyweights Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Smith had one big thing in common: their careers to date had both been shaped in large part by the MMA GOAT.
Jon Jones got all he could handle against Gustafsson in 2013. Jones went on to squeak out a decision, but to this day plenty of fans believe it was the champ's toughest test to date (inside a cage, anyway).
Just three months ago, Smith surprised observers by taking Jones the distance. This time it was a pretty lopsided decision, but given that Smith was a massive underdog in the bout, his ability to survive cemented him as one of the promotion's toughest competitors.