After his win over Alexander Gustafsson over the weekend, Anthony Smith is calling for other light heavyweight contenders to ‘earn’ a fight against him.
Nearly three months since his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 235 in March, Anthony Smith got himself back in the win column with a fourth-round submission win over Alexander Gustafsson. The victory makes Smith the fourth man to defeat “The Mauler”, who announced his retirement after the fight.
For “Lionheart,” such a feat puts him amongst the biggest names in the 205-pound division who had accomplished the same achievement.
“Who else has done it? If you take Phil Davis out of it because that was a long time ago, who else has done it? Jon [Jones], ‘Rumble’ [Anthony Johnson] and D.C. [Daniel Cormier],” Smith told MMA Fighting. “That’s a pretty good group of guys to be mentioned with.
“At this point, I don’t know what else I’d have to do to answer any questions of my legitimacy. Honestly I don’t care. I’m just really happy that I’ve inserted myself among the top two guys in the world or three guys in the world if you keep D.C. in there.”
Smith is now riding on this win to put himself at a good position for his next fights. One possible fight to make is against 205-pound newcomer Luke Rockhold, but Smith says that opportunity needs to be earned.
“The only way you’re going to take that away is you’ve got to beat me,” he said. “There’s no more jockeying for position and trying to get the good fights and figuring out who’s next. That sh-t is over. Now if you want my spot, you’ve got to take it. Instead of me chasing people, now they’ve got to come to me.”
“It’s the same thing with [Luke] Rockhold, you want to talk all that sh-t, now you’ve got to do your job. Now you’ve got to earn it.
“I don’t owe you sh-t. 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.
Smith sent the exact same message to fellow top contender Corey Anderson.
“Corey Anderson’s already on Twitter and Instagram talking sh-t. Come on dude, what is wrong with you? Do something to earn it,” he said. “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, b-tch. I’m sick of these guys talking sh-t.
Smith’s victory over Gustafsson did come with a price, as he is now forced to the sidelines for at least six months due to a broken hand, which also requires surgery.