Anthony Smith feels it’s his time to shine, as the surging UFC light heavyweight contender is looking to challenge Jon Jones for the championship.
Smith got into a bit of a back-and-forth with Jones on the UFC 232 FS1 post-fight show, where ‘Bones’ said he would be willing to defend his title against ‘Lionheart’ in July.
Smith, however, who is on a three-fight win streak, is willing to fight Jones ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere.’ The 30-year-old says his manager is currently negotiating with the UFC to get the fight booked as soon as possible.
“It sounds like he’s in,” Smith told TMZSports recently, per MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew. “Of course, [my manager] has already been talking to the UFC and I think that they’re working that out and seeing what that looks like as far as timelines and stuff, but I’m in.
“Any time, any place, anywhere, I’m ready,” Smith said. “I’ll fight Jon this weekend if he wants to.”
Jones, who recently tested positive for trace amounts of anabolic steroids, finished Alexander Gustafsson in the UFC 232 main event to claim the vacant light heavyweight title. The three-time LHW champ looked impressive doing so, but Smith wasn’t exactly ‘wowed’ by his performance.
“Anytime you take out Alexander Gustafsson with a finish, that’s a huge accomplishment,” Smith said. “So hats off to Jon, that was obviously a great performance, but I’ve seen him look better. I saw a beatable man. I saw a guy that I can compete with and a guy that I can beat. I’m not wowed by Jon Jones. That’s not saying that I don’t think he’s a phenomenal fighter, but I’m not afraid of him and I think that Jon has a lot of people beat before they even get in there. I think people look at Jon like he’s an uphill battle and this unreachable task and I don’t see him like that. I’m not wowed by him. I see a man that I can beat and a person with holes, like any other human, that can be exploited.”
Smith is currently ranked at #3 in the official UFC light heavyweight rankings and recently submitted former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir to establish himself as a legitimate contender.