Anthony Smith has talked a big game about his chances against current UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, but when the two fighters crossed paths at UFC 303’s pre-fight press conference on Thursday “Lionheart” made sure to steer clear of “Poatan.”
Pereira, who defends his title against Jiri Prochazka in a rematch this weekend at UFC 303 in Las Vegas, is one of the most feared fighters in the sport today. The Brazilian’s grappling game may be somewhat of a mystery, but Pereira is hands down one of the scariest strikers to ever compete inside of the Octagon. The former two-division GLORY champion and UFC middleweight king has some pretty gnarly finishes on his resume and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
Smith, who will also compete this weekend in a short-notice scrap with Roman Dolidze, believes that he would truly give Pereira a run for his money if the two ever fought. In fact, “Lionheart” has been calling out the UFC champion for quite some time. Smith even plans to cut a promo if he’s victorious at UFC 303 to try to score a title shot against Pereira (which is an unlikely scenario at this point in time).
It’s unknown why Smith is so hellbent on proving something against Pereira, but he continues to poke the bear every chance he gets. That is, of course, until Smith crossed paths with Pereira on Thursday before UFC 303’s pre-fight press conference. “Lionheart” dapped up just about every fighter that he ran into, but didn’t take a second to look in Pereira’s direction. It was pretty weird to see, especially since the two fighters have exchanged so many words over the past year.
Check it out below:
Anthony Smith too scared to look at Alex Pereira #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/iozUFieoma
— Dovy (@DovySimuMMA) June 28, 2024
And here’s another awkward fight week encounter involving Pereira and former opponent Jamahal Hill, who “Poatan” just knocked out at UFC 300 this past April:
Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill bumped into each other at the UFC Performance Institute
YT / @AlexPereiraUFC #UFC303 #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/F02IcSGOAv
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 28, 2024
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 303 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 303 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 303: “Pereira vs. Prochazka 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 303 fight card and PPV lineup click here.