UFC's Anthony Smith Fights Off Home Intruder; Man Charged With Criminal Trespass

A man has been charged after unlawfully entering UFC fighter Anthony Smith's Nebraska home Sunday morning, according to ESPN.

Sgt. Wayne Hudson of the Douglas County (Nebraska) Sheriff's office told ESPN that the intruder, Luke Haberman, was arrested and charged with first-degree criminal trespass, which is a misdemeanor.

Smith told ESPN's Ariel Helwani that his wife woke him up around 4 a.m. and said there was a man in the house. Smith said he heard a "man's voice screaming at the top of his lungs," and he quickly left his bedroom to discover Haberman in his family's computer room. 

When Haberman walked toward him, Smith was worried if he had a weapon. The two men began to fight when Smith tried to subdue him.

"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 he was worried about protecting his wife, mother-in-law and three daughters who were home. The 205-pound fighter called the tussle "one of the toughest fights" he's ever had and said the 170-pound intruder put up a struggle for several 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."

After police arrived, they subdued Haberman, who was cut and parts of his face were swollen. Hudson told ESPN that Haberman was issued a citation and released to the hospital. Although the police didn't take him into custody, he will report to court at a later date.

Haberman did not steal anything from Smith's home, and it remains uncertain why he broke in. Some of Smith's neighbors saw Haberman on video trying to break into their homes, and he successfully entered another person's home before being scared off. Haberman entered the Smith residence through an open garage door.

Smith said he plans to install a security system to help keep his family safe. He is scheduled to next fight Glover Teixeira in UFC Lincoln on April 25 in Nebraska. However, the bout is likely to be moved due to the coronavirus pandemic.