Tag: Anthony Smith

‘Fat’ Anthony Smith eyeing a fight that ‘doesn’t make sense’ for his UFC return in 2024: ‘That would be fun’

Anthony SmithLight heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is ready to get back to work following a brutal third-round knockout loss to…

Anthony Smith

Light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is ready to get back to work following a brutal third-round knockout loss to Khalil Rountree in his last outing.

Smith, who once challenged Jon Jones for the 205-pound title, has struggled to find the win column as of late, dropping three of his last four fights. Despite the string of losses, ‘Lionheart’ has no interest in hanging up his gloves just yet. Instead, he’s in the market for something exciting in the Octagon — just as soon as he whips himself back into shape.

“I’m ready to fight,” Smith said on his Believe You Me podcast with co-host Michael Bisping. “It kind of just hit me. Not fight, fight, but ready to start finding a fight. Pick up the workouts a little bit. I’m fat. I’ve got this belly hanging over the pants. I was 237 like a week ago. I’m heavy.

“When I’m off, I’m off. I’m all the way off. I’ve been trying to change my mindset a little bit, and there’s a couple things that matter. The name doesn’t really matter. How I feel about it really matters. I want something that’s exciting. And maybe divisionally it doesn’t make sense, I don’t know.”

Anthony Smith Reveals Possible Return Date

Smith, 36, has seemingly put to bed his dream of one day once again competing for the light heavyweight championship. At this point in his career, he would rather focus on finding fights that are fun and motivating, no matter how they impact his stance in the division’s top 10.

He also revealed when fight fans could potentially see him back inside the Octagon.

“I don’t care if they’re ranked,” Smith continued. “I don’t care if they’re not ranked, ranked high. I don’t care who it is. It has to be something that I deem as fun. And I know that’s really stupid, but when I hear the name I want it to be exciting. I want it to be like, ‘Oh, that would be fun.’ I need something that’s fun, and I want to look forward to it.

“The danger factor doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t care how hard the fight’s going to be. I want it to be someone that gets me excited, and I want it to be somewhere that gets me excited. The timing, I’m less concerned with the timing. May or June” (h/t MMA Mania).

Anthony Smith is 37-19 in his mixed martial arts career and carries a record of 12-9 under the UFC banner. After earning three-straight finishes against Rashad Evans, ‘Shogun’ Rua, and Volkan Oezdemir, ‘Lionheart’ earned a shot at then-light heavyweight champ Jon Jones at UFC 235. He came up short, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss in his lone title opportunity.

He has since gone 5-5 inside the Octagon.

Michael Bisping Delivers Brutally Honest Take on Anthony Smith’s Short-Notice Showdown against Khalil Rountree

Michael Bisping gets brutally honest with Anthony SmithMichael Bisping was brutally honest while looking back on Anthony Smith’s decision to accept a short-notice scrap with rising…

Michael Bisping gets brutally honest with Anthony Smith

Michael Bisping was brutally honest while looking back on Anthony Smith’s decision to accept a short-notice scrap with rising contender Khalil Rountree.

Smith, who regularly appears alongside the former middleweight world champion on the Believe You Me podcast, stepped up on two weeks’ notice to face Rountree as part of a UFC Fight Night event in December. ‘Lionheart’ was stopped in the third round via TKO.

‘The Count’ couldn’t help but question why Smith would have accepted the bout considering the high risk and low reward.

“I’m happy to hear that you still want to fight, but if you want to fight, you’ve got to be a little more meticulous about it, if you don’t mind me saying,” Bisping said on the latest episode of the podcast. “I’ll be honest: I said it when we watched the fight on the live (broadcast), and I didn’t want to go into it because it’s like I was betraying you or whatever. I hated it. I was on a walk – I think it was Thanksgiving day when I got the message – and I found out you were fighting. I hated it.

“I f*cking hated it. I didn’t understand it. You’re a fighter, 100 percent, and you’ve got balls of steel. You’re like, ‘F*ck it, let’s go. I can do this.’ I think with the trend lately of people stepping up on short notice, Tom Aspinall going out there and doing it, and Volkanovski stepping up. All right, he lost. But it’s been kind of a thing, people stepping up on short notice. You only really do that when there’s something worth risking it for. I did it, but that was a title fight. I didn’t understand it because you gained nothing from that” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Michael Bisping Refuses to take anything away from khalil rountree’s performance

Anthony Smith admitted that his pride is what ultimately pushed him into accepting the fight against one of the division’s most destructive knockout artists.

With the loss, ‘Lionheart’ has now dropped three of his last four contests, including back-to-back defeats against Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. He got back into the win column in August by way of a split decision over Ryan Spann, but the setback against Rountree dropped him to the No. 10 spot in the light heavyweight rankings.

“You’ve just got to be more professional with it, as you say, in between camps with your weight and stuff like that leading up to fights and just making the correct choices,” Bisping added. “I would love to see you fight on a full camp against Khalil – and we can’t take away from Khalil’s performance. He did tremendous. But the purpose of a fight camp is not only to get you in shape, it’s to get you mentally ready, as well.”

Do you agree with Michael Bisping’s assessment?

Khalil Rountree stops Anthony Smith with brutal uppercut KO – UFC Vegas 83 Highlights

Khalil Rountree stops Anthony Smith with brutal KO win at UFC Vegas 83 highlightsSurging light heavyweight contender, Khalil Rountree has turned in the most high-profile win of his mixed martial arts career…

Khalil Rountree stops Anthony Smith with brutal KO win at UFC Vegas 83 highlights

Surging light heavyweight contender, Khalil Rountree has turned in the most high-profile win of his mixed martial arts career to date, landing an eventual third round knockout win over former title challenger, Anthony Smith — as part of a now extended five-fight winning streak in the co-main event of UFC Vegas 83.

Rountree, the current number eleven ranked light heavyweight contender, landed his fight consecutive victory and fourth knockout stoppage in his five most recent fights, handing Smith a stoppage defeat with a perfectly-placed third round uppercut shot and follow-up left hand.

Adding to prior wins over the likes of Modestas Bukauskas, Dustin Jacoby, and a stoppage of Chris Daukaus, Rountree — an alum of The Ultimate Fighter, managed to bloody veteran Nebraska native, Smith in the first round around his right eye with a slew of well-placed strikes.

And having wobbled the former light heavyweight title challenger in the second round, Rountree then landed a third round stoppage over Smith, forcing him staggering backwards and eventually to the Octagon canvas courtesy of a right uppercut which came before a left hook shot.

Below, catch the highlights from Khalil Rountree’s win over Anthony Smith at UFC Vegas 83

Anthony Smith ‘Definitely Thinks There’s a chance’ he fights Alex Pereira after UFC 295

Anthony SmithPerennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes there’s a very real chance that he could be the first man…

Anthony Smith

Perennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes there’s a very real chance that he could be the first man to challenge Alex Pereira, should ‘Poatan’ walk out of Madison Square Garden with the 205-pound title on Saturday night.

Pereira, who will be competing in his third title fight in less than a year, has the opportunity to claim his second UFC championship in as many divisions when he meets former light heavyweight titleholder Jiri Prochazka to crown a new king of the division. The belt currently sits vacant after Jamahal Hill was forced to lay down the title after suffering a ruptured Achilles during a charity basketball game in July.

Both Prochazka and Pereira recognize that Hill would be coming for the gold once healed up and ready to return, but with an injury that could take a year or more to recover from, it leaves the door wide open for another potential contender to earn their shot.

Enter Anthony Smith, a mainstay in the division’s top ten determined to score a UFC title fight before hanging up his gloves for good. Losing two of his last three, including back-to-back defeats against Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker, ‘Lionheart’ doesn’t appear to be a logical choice for title contention, but with so many injuries plaguing the top of the weight class, Smith believes he could benefit from the lack of contenders available.

I definitely think there’s a chance, for sure,” Smith said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “I mean, especially if [Pereira] wins. Looks good doing it. Wants a quick [turnaround].

He continued, “If Jamahal’s ready then it’s him. I couldn’t expect to jump the line on him and I would be jumping the line anyway, which I’m fine with. I think I’ve been around long enough.”

Alex Pereira Accuses Anthony smith of Being a hater

It’s safe to say there is no love lost between Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith. In August, ‘Poatan’ called out the part-time analyst and full-time fighter, believing ‘Lionheart’ has been consistently biased against him in his commentary.

“The issue is, he has his job with the UFC commentating,” Pereira said through a translator on an episode of The MMA Hour. “He’s got to do what he’s got to do, but we feel that since the beginning, he gives me no credit. For example, I made my debut, I came from Glory, he was like, ‘Yeah, he’s a Glory kickboxer, but now he’s fighting a very tough grappler, [Andreas] Michailidis, he’s going to be a wrestler and everything, it’s going to be too much of a challenge.’ I go and knock the guy out.

“Then he goes, ‘Oh, but that guy he fought wasn’t tough. He was a nobody. Now he’s going fight Bruno Silva, beat [Alexander] Schlemenko in Russia by knockout, he’s a beast, this is going to be too much for him.’ I go and beat Bruno Silva, and then that’s when [he says with] Sean Strickland… ‘Bruno Silva wasn’t that tough, but Sean Strickland, he’s a challenge right now. It’s not going to be good for him.’ I go and beat Sean Strickland.

“It’s always something [after],” Pereira continued. “‘Oh, Sean Strickland, that was not a tough challenge,’ and this and that. [He says] ‘He’s still got to prove himself. Now he has to go fight Adesanya!’ I go and beat Adesanya, and then after that, I go up to light heavyweight but [it’s], ‘He just lost his last fight. He’s too small for light heavyweight. He’s a tough fight, Blachowicz. He won’t pass.’ I go and beat [Blachowicz].

“It’s always something going on that Anthony doesn’t give me the proper credit that I deserve. He kind of hates on me a little bit” (h/t MMA Fighting).

‘Lionheart’ Snaps Back

Anthony Smith responded to Pereira’s comments, claiming that ‘Poatan’ had misunderstood him, particularly when it came to his comments about Pereira’s move from middleweight to lightweight.

“I’ll be honest: I texted Glover (Teixeira) yesterday and said, ‘What in the f*ck is this?’” Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show. “I’m trying to figure out which direction I’m supposed to go here. Did he take something out of context? Is he reading headlines, or did he actually listen to what I said? Because what I said was that, essentially, he’s the same size as everyone else. You think if I said Islam (Makhachev) is the same size as every lightweight, he’s going to come at me pissed off about it? No.

“My whole point was that he moved up to 205 so he’s not going to enjoy the same size advantage that he did at 185. That’s it. Is that crazy? Am I wrong?

Though we can’t necessarily see the UFC chomping at the bit to make a potential title fight between Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith, there is enough background between them to give the hypothetical clash a little nudge in the right direction from a marketing standpoint.

Anthony Smith ‘Definitely Thinks There’s a chance’ he fights Alex Pereira after UFC 295

Anthony SmithPerennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes there’s a very real chance that he could be the first man…

Anthony Smith

Perennial light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith believes there’s a very real chance that he could be the first man to challenge Alex Pereira, should ‘Poatan’ walk out of Madison Square Garden with the 205-pound title on Saturday night.

Pereira, who will be competing in his third title fight in less than a year, has the opportunity to claim his second UFC championship in as many divisions when he meets former light heavyweight titleholder Jiri Prochazka to crown a new king of the division. The belt currently sits vacant after Jamahal Hill was forced to lay down the title after suffering a ruptured Achilles during a charity basketball game in July.

Both Prochazka and Pereira recognize that Hill would be coming for the gold once healed up and ready to return, but with an injury that could take a year or more to recover from, it leaves the door wide open for another potential contender to earn their shot.

Enter Anthony Smith, a mainstay in the division’s top ten determined to score a UFC title fight before hanging up his gloves for good. Losing two of his last three, including back-to-back defeats against Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker, ‘Lionheart’ doesn’t appear to be a logical choice for title contention, but with so many injuries plaguing the top of the weight class, Smith believes he could benefit from the lack of contenders available.

I definitely think there’s a chance, for sure,” Smith said during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “I mean, especially if [Pereira] wins. Looks good doing it. Wants a quick [turnaround].

He continued, “If Jamahal’s ready then it’s him. I couldn’t expect to jump the line on him and I would be jumping the line anyway, which I’m fine with. I think I’ve been around long enough.”

Alex Pereira Accuses Anthony smith of Being a hater

It’s safe to say there is no love lost between Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith. In August, ‘Poatan’ called out the part-time analyst and full-time fighter, believing ‘Lionheart’ has been consistently biased against him in his commentary.

“The issue is, he has his job with the UFC commentating,” Pereira said through a translator on an episode of The MMA Hour. “He’s got to do what he’s got to do, but we feel that since the beginning, he gives me no credit. For example, I made my debut, I came from Glory, he was like, ‘Yeah, he’s a Glory kickboxer, but now he’s fighting a very tough grappler, [Andreas] Michailidis, he’s going to be a wrestler and everything, it’s going to be too much of a challenge.’ I go and knock the guy out.

“Then he goes, ‘Oh, but that guy he fought wasn’t tough. He was a nobody. Now he’s going fight Bruno Silva, beat [Alexander] Schlemenko in Russia by knockout, he’s a beast, this is going to be too much for him.’ I go and beat Bruno Silva, and then that’s when [he says with] Sean Strickland… ‘Bruno Silva wasn’t that tough, but Sean Strickland, he’s a challenge right now. It’s not going to be good for him.’ I go and beat Sean Strickland.

“It’s always something [after],” Pereira continued. “‘Oh, Sean Strickland, that was not a tough challenge,’ and this and that. [He says] ‘He’s still got to prove himself. Now he has to go fight Adesanya!’ I go and beat Adesanya, and then after that, I go up to light heavyweight but [it’s], ‘He just lost his last fight. He’s too small for light heavyweight. He’s a tough fight, Blachowicz. He won’t pass.’ I go and beat [Blachowicz].

“It’s always something going on that Anthony doesn’t give me the proper credit that I deserve. He kind of hates on me a little bit” (h/t MMA Fighting).

‘Lionheart’ Snaps Back

Anthony Smith responded to Pereira’s comments, claiming that ‘Poatan’ had misunderstood him, particularly when it came to his comments about Pereira’s move from middleweight to lightweight.

“I’ll be honest: I texted Glover (Teixeira) yesterday and said, ‘What in the f*ck is this?’” Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show. “I’m trying to figure out which direction I’m supposed to go here. Did he take something out of context? Is he reading headlines, or did he actually listen to what I said? Because what I said was that, essentially, he’s the same size as everyone else. You think if I said Islam (Makhachev) is the same size as every lightweight, he’s going to come at me pissed off about it? No.

“My whole point was that he moved up to 205 so he’s not going to enjoy the same size advantage that he did at 185. That’s it. Is that crazy? Am I wrong?

Though we can’t necessarily see the UFC chomping at the bit to make a potential title fight between Alex Pereira and Anthony Smith, there is enough background between them to give the hypothetical clash a little nudge in the right direction from a marketing standpoint.

Anthony Smith plays up future clash with Ex-UFC kingpin Alex Pereira amid bitter rivalry: ‘I would smoke him’

Anthony Smith plays up future clash with Alex Pereira I would smoke him UFCFormer light heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith has claimed if he ever landed a proposed grappling match with former middleweight champion, Alex Pereira outside of the UFC – he would handily “smoke” the Brazilian on the mats. Smith, a former one-time light heavyweight title challenger under the promotion’s banner, snapped a disappointing two-fight losing skid […]

Anthony Smith plays up future clash with Alex Pereira I would smoke him UFC

Former light heavyweight title challenger, Anthony Smith has claimed if he ever landed a proposed grappling match with former middleweight champion, Alex Pereira outside of the UFC – he would handily “smoke” the Brazilian on the mats.

Smith, a former one-time light heavyweight title challenger under the promotion’s banner, snapped a disappointing two-fight losing skid on the main card of UFC Fight Night Singapore back in August, defeating two-time opponent, Ryan Spann in a close, split decision victory.

And as for Pereira, the Sao Paulo knockout artist made good on a light heavyweight divisional bow at UFC 291 back in July, defeating former undisputed champion, Jan Blachowicz in a close, split decision win in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Booking his Octagon return for November in the co-main event of UFC 295 in Madison Square Garden, former middleweight champion, Pereira will attempt to mint himself as the new light heavyweight champion as he takes on former champion, Czech Republic native, Jiri Prochazka in a vacant title showing.

Anthony Smith is prepared to take on Alex Pereira as soon as possible

Finding himself firmly inserted into a verbal rivalry with Pereira in recent weeks since his rematch win over Spann, Nebraska veteran, Smith – who was linked with a grappling clash with the former, confidently claimed he would brush Pereira aside with ease.

“I would grapple him (Alex Pereira) in my front yard right now,” Anthony Smith told MMA Fighting. “It doesn’t matter, I would smoke him in a grappling match, But isn’t he supposed to – I don’t know why he’s not talking trash to Jiri (Prochazka). Like, that’s the guy, I understand trying drum up some business and drum up some intrigue into what you’re doing and things in the division.”

“Someone needs to be in his (Alex Pereira) saying, ‘If you’re going to be talking all this sh*t, you need to do it to the guy that you could be fighting for the title,” Anthony Smith explained. 

Would you like to see Anthony Smith compete against Alex Pereira?