Anthony Smith has been a veritable nightmare for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight division, knocking out two former champions and submitting two ex-title contenders.
Including Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Stockholm.
That’s why “Lionheart” is turning a deaf ear to 205-pound shit talkers like former “Yes Man” Corey Anderson and ex-middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. The former was angling for a fight on social media while the latter was simply acting like an “arrogant asshole.”
“Corey Anderson’s already on Twitter and Instagram talking shit,” Smith told MMA Fighting. “Come on dude, what is wrong with you? Do something to earn it. I’ve fought five times since you fought once. What are we doing here? At this point, it’s really easy. Do something to deserve it, bitch. I’m sick of these guys talking shit.”
It should be noted that Anderson (12-4) is coming off three straight wins over ranked contenders while Rockhold was somehow resurrected after dying on the operating table at the surgical hands of Dr. Yoel Romero.
“It’s the same thing with [Luke] Rockhold, you want to talk all that shit, now you’ve got to do your job. Now you’ve got to earn it,” Smith continued. “I don’t owe you shit. Now you’ve got to come to me and you’ve got to do something to deserve it. That’s a good position to be in.”
Prior to his “Mauler” win, Smith (32-14) dropped a five-round unanimous decision to Jon Jones at UFC 235 back in March and is expected to take several months off to heal his broken hand. In the interim, Rockhold will fight Jan Blachowicz while Anderson remains unbooked.
For now.