Light Heavyweight gatekeeper? No way.
Last week, it was announced that former Light Heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith will fight surging undefeated prospect Vitor Petrino later this Spring in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at UFC 301.
Petrino actually called for a matchup with Smith after he defeated Tyson Pedro at UFC Vegas 87 earlier this month, and the Brazilian got his wish; however, Smith was not happy at all with the call-out, in fact he was offended.
“I’m offended,” Smith said on SiriusXM’s MMA Today. “Why didn’t he call out someone higher ranked? Why didn’t he call out [Aleksandar] Rakic? As far as timelines go, Rakic is going to be fighting soon. That would be a little closer to your timeline in terms of two guys who are fighting around the same time. Why didn’t you call out Rakic or Volkan Oezdemir? Why didn’t you call out any of those guys? Because you think you can beat me. You’re not sure about the other ones, and that pisses me off.
“I’m not done,” Smith continued. “I’m not the old wounded lion that’s just pacing around waiting to be killed by the younger ones. That’s not me. I refuse to be the new Neil Magny. Three guys in a month and a half have fought, won, and called me out, all unranked, all young guys. We’re going to dead this right in its tracks. Call me a gatekeeper. Call me whatever the hell you want to call me, but here’s the fact: I’ve been fighting inside the top 10 for a very long time and have been fighting in the rankings in two different weight classes for a very long time.”
Smith is referring to Magny as the ultimate gatekeeper in the Welterweight division. However, “Lionheart” has a good record of shutting down rising prospects in the 205 lb division—he beat Jimmy Crute, Devin Clark, and Ryan Spann twice. On the other hand, he was just smashed by Khalil Rountree Jr. on short notice.
Nevertheless, Smith is at a point in his long career where he will have to fight the young, hungry prospects unless he can turn back the clock and get to one last title run.
Maybe he fights his brother from another mother next? Or Heavyweight…?