Tag: Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith drops focus on title fight with Alex Pereira ahead of UFC 301: ‘I was so obsessed with the belt’

Anthony drops focus on title fight with Anthony Smith after UFC 301 I became obsessed with itAnthony Smith says he’s no longer blinded by becoming UFC champion ahead of his UFC 301 main card fight…

Anthony drops focus on title fight with Anthony Smith after UFC 301 I became obsessed with it

Anthony Smith says he’s no longer blinded by becoming UFC champion ahead of his UFC 301 main card fight against Vitor Petrino.

Smith enters the fight as a massive underdog, as ‘Lionheart’ is coming off a TKO loss to Khalil Rountree. Anthony Smith is 1-3 in his last four fights, as his bout against Petrino is a pivotal one if he’s going to remain a contender.

Anthony Smith expected to weigh up fighting retirement after UFC Charlotte loss
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon – USA TODAY Sports

Ahead of his return at UFC 301, Smith says he’s no longer obsessed with the belt as he believes that was an anchor for him and didn’t allow him to fight freely.

“It’s just blinded me,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “I’m so obsessed with it. I had a really good conversation with Daniel Cormier earlier today, and that’s really what it was about – it consuming me. It’s good because you have to be selfish and you need to be completely dialed in to be successful at this level, but sometimes you can be so obsessed with it that it becomes a fault. I’m almost carrying an anchor with me. It changes the way I fight. It changes the way I think leading up to a fight. So I’m just done worrying about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t want it. I’m done consuming myself with it.”

Anthony Smith survives gnarly eye injury to win close decision in rematch Ryan Spann UFC Singapore
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Smith is a +440 underdog, which implies an 18.5% chance of winning the fight. However, Smith has confidence he will pull off the upset and remind everyone he is still a top-ranked opponent at light heavyweight.

Anthony Smith plans to make a statement at UFC 301

Anthony Smith is facing Vitor Petrino, who called him out after his last win. Although Anthony Smith accepted his callout, he wants this fight to be a message to the young up-and-comers that he isn’t a stepping stone for them to get into the top-10 or top-five.

 “When I’m done here and on Sunday, the next young, up-and-coming 205er can pick somebody else to pick on. It’s a slight for sure. I’m not that upset about it, to be honest. It’s annoying, but I get it. I’ve been him before. I understand what he’s doing. He’s a young up-and-comer and picked an aging, broke down wounded lion in his mind. Of course he would. He thinks I’m on the downslope and I’ve got a big name and he doesn’t, so I get it. But it’s my job to prove him wrong,” Smith said.

Alex Pereira unsure if his legacy is better than Israel Adesanya's I won two title he tried to
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Smith is 37-19 as a pro and 12-9 in the UFC. He is 1-3 in his last four, with his lone win over that stretch being a split decision win over Ryan Spann.

Anthony Smith rekindles rivalry with UFC star Alex Pereira, eyes future fight: ‘I would stand in the fire with him’

Anthony Smith rekindles rivalry with Alex Pereira I would stand in the fire with him UFCRekindling his rivalry with undisputed light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, former divisional title challenger, Anthony Smith claims if afforded…

Anthony Smith rekindles rivalry with Alex Pereira I would stand in the fire with him UFC

Rekindling his rivalry with undisputed light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, former divisional title challenger, Anthony Smith claims if afforded the opportunity – he would warrant the Brazilian an in-close striking battle, ahead of his UFC 301 return next weekend.

Smith, a former light heavyweight title chaser and the current number 10 ranked divisional contender, is slated to return to the Octagon next weekend in hostile territory in Brazil, featuring at UFC 301 in a showdown with a highly-touted unbeaten prospect, Vitor Petrino. 

Anthony Smith survives gnarly eye injury to win close decision in rematch Ryan Spann UFC Singapore
Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

Sidelined since last December, Nebraska veteran, Smith suffered a knockout loss to incoming UFC 303 co-headliner, Khalil Rountree – resulting in his third defeat in his four most recent walks under the promotional banner.

For former duel-division champion, Pereira, the incumbent light heavyweight gold holder headlined UFC 300 earlier this month, landing a blistering first round KO win over another former champion, Jamahal Hill in a one-sided victory.

Anthony Smith talks rivalry with Alex Pereira

And sharing som fiery words on Smith prior to his title coronation at 205 pounds, Pereira claimed the former Bellator MMA fighter was “stuck in a rut” amid his losing skid, however, Smith admitted he hopes to still settle their differences in the future, vowing to stand and trade with him.

Anthony Smith expected to weigh up fighting retirement after UFC Charlotte loss
Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon – USA TODAY Sports

“He’s fun,” Anthony Smith told Submission Radio of Alex Pereira. “Him and I have had our words back-and-forth. I don’t think there’s any real beef there, but there’s definitely something there with him and I where given the opportunity, we both would jump on it. If I can put myself in a position where, ‘Oh, holy sh*t, we are on a bit of a streak,’ and things are going well, the timing works out, I think both of use would jump on that opportunity.”

“I don’t know why that is,” Anthony Smith explained. “I don’t know if it’s ‘Real recognizes real’ a little bit. I’m one of the few guys probably that would really – I don’t know – I would step in the fire with him and he knows that.”

Alex Pereira weighs up Manchester fight with Tom Aspinall at UFC 304 I'm there

Would you like to see Alex Pereira take on Anthony Smith in the future?

‘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.