Before Jamahal Hill was set to fight for the title at UFC 283 he was supposed to fight Anthony Smith in March. Now Smith is without an opponent and outside the contender’s circle.
Light heavyweight title fights have gotten a bit easy come, easy go these days. Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira became Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev, and after those two fought to a split draw at UFC 282 the UFC immediately signed Jamahal Hill vs. Glover Teixeira for the title in Brazil at UFC 283.
One man who was feeling more than a little left out after that announcement was 205-pound contender Anthony Smith, who was working with the broadcast team for UFC 282. Following the announcement of Hill vs. Teixeira, a visibly unhappy Smith reacted to the news.
“Uh, yeah that’s a problem. Yeah, that’s a big problem for me. Yeah, I don’t know,” he said. Smith had been booked to face Hill in March 2023, and now found himself without an opponent and outside the title fight equation.
“I have so much respect for you, digesting this news right now,” his co-worker Jon Anik said. “Because as your friend and colleague, to all of a sudden have that Jamahal Hill fight go away, and now he’s going to be fighting Glover Teixeira for the title. I don’t even know what to say, man, to see your reaction off-set. It’s absolutely crazy.”
“It kind of leaves me with nobody, that’s the problem,” Smith said. “Ankalaev just fought, Racik is injured, Blachowicz just fought, Jamahal Hill was left, Glover Teixeira was available and now he’s not….”
“We’ll figure it out,” Smith finished. “I don’t know, the London card is coming up, I like London this time of year. I feel like someone owes me a favor right now, so … I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.”
Unfortunately for Smith, he’s sitting just outside the contender circle and coming off a loss to Magomed Ankalaev for this entire vacant 205-pound title scrum. He and Jamahal Hill sit at No. 6 and No. 7 in the rankings respectively, but Hill just happens to be on a three fight KO win streak.
Jamahal Hill vs. Glover Teixeira becomes the new main event for UFC Rio on January 21st, with the fourth flyweight fight between champion Deiveson Figueiredo and interim champion Brandon Moreno moving down into the co-main slot. Also on the card: Gilbert Burns vs. Neil Magny, Paul Craig vs. Johnny Walker, and Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brad Tavares.