Tag: Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith believes that despite his past, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will be a clean fighter come fight night. This comes during fight week as Smith will challenge Jones for the strap in the headliner of the UFC 235 pay-per-view event.

Smith was put in this spot once he beat former title contender Volkan Oezdemir by third-round rear-naked choke. This fight went down in the headliner of UFC Moncton at Moncton Coliseum in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

On Thursday, the NSAC released the latest batch of Jones’ drug test results. This is where it was shown that Picograms of the long-term M3 metabolite were again present on multiple tests.

“It’s expected,” Smith told reporters, including MMAjunkie. “I didn’t have any doubt in my mind. For whatever reason he tends to pulse when he gets close to a fight. I expected it. I would’ve been more shocked if it wasn’t there. It is what it is. I’ve talked to (NSAC executive director) Bob Bennett. We’re good.

“Bob Bennett’s been doing this a long time and I just don’t think he would put me in a position where someone else starts with a head start. That’s not me giving Jon a pass, though. Obviously there’s been some sort of indiscretion there. At some point in time he’s used PEDs and I don’t think we can argue that. But as far as now: I think Jon is a clean athlete.”

The post Anthony Smith Believes Jon Jones Is Clean Fighter For UFC 235 Bout appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Anthony Smith is a heavy betting underdog heading into his light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones this weekend.

However, “Lionheart” doesn’t have an ounce of doubt about his skillset. In fact, speaking to the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast, Smith said he thinks he beats Jones if the fight goes to the ground (via MMA News):

“I’m okay with that. I love jiu-jitsu and we talked about it before, I started out as a jiu-jitsu guy. I never claimed that I’m some world-class striker, that’s everybody else.

“I’ve always said I’m a jiu-jitsu guy at heart, that’s how I started. And I’m more than happy to get into a grappling battle with Jon. I think that Jon puts everything together really really well. He’s really smart, he makes really good decisions especially on the fly.

“But in a jiu-jitsu match, I don’t think there’s a world that exists that Jon Jones beats me in jiu-jitsu. It just doesn’t happen.”

Jones will be making his first UFC title defense since 2015. Smith earned the opportunity with a three-fight win streak. In his latest contest, “Lionheart” submitted Volkan Oezdemir in the third round via rear-naked choke. He has been a proven finisher over the course of his career. Smith has racked up 17 wins by knockout and 11 by submission.

He’ll try to pull off one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts (MMA) history in the main event of UFC 235. The pay-per-view (PPV) goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The post Anthony Smith: Jon Jones Can’t Beat Me In Jiu-Jitsu appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.