Anthony Smith News
Aljamain Sterling addresses "aged gracefully" comments from Anthony Smith regarding the illegal knee incident: "When you've got a bone to pick with somebody, you kinda got to call it how it is"
Lewis Simpson - May 12, 2023
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has addressed Anthony Smith’s “aged gracefully” comments regarding his illegal knee incident with Petr Yan. Back in 2021, at UFC 259, Sterling’s championship reign began, but the way the championship was attained caused a massive uproar in the community. Sterling had challenged Yan in a highly-anticipated matchup at the top of the division, and after cruising his way to victory, before making a crucial mistake that would cost him his world title.
Anthony Smith predicts second-round submission over Johnny Walker at UFC Charlotte: "In the scramble, I think he'll give up something easy"
Lewis Simpson - May 11, 2023
Anthony Smith is set to face Johnny Walker this Saturday in the UFC Charlotte co-headliner, and the light heavyweight standout predicts a second-round submission victory coming his way. The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, will host 12 thrilling mixed martial arts contests. Heavyweight contenders Jailton Almeida and Jairzinho Rozenstruik top the bill, with Smith and Walker taking the co-main event slot.
Pro fighters make their picks for Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
Cole Shelton - May 11, 2023
In the co-main event of UFC Charlotte, a light heavyweight bout goes down as Anthony Smith takes on Johnny Walker. Heading into the scrap, the fight is lined as a pick’em as both Smith and Walker are listed at -113 on FanDuel. Ahead of the fight at UFC Charlotte, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro fighters to get their predictions for the scrap. Although the scrap is listed as a pick’em, the pros are nearly unanimous in thinking Smith gets the win by using his wrestling.
Anthony Smith "would love" to fight Alex Pereira at light heavyweight, but thinks the Brazilian will struggle at 205lbs
Cole Shelton - May 10, 2023
Anthony Smith would love to face Alex Pereira at light heavyweight. After Pereira suffered a knockout loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 287 to lose the middleweight title, he announced he would be moving up to light heavyweight. Since the announcement, Pereira does not have his next fight booked but Smith – who is set to face Johnny Walker at UFC Charlotte – says he would love the chance to face the Brazilian. But, ‘Lionheart’ also doesn’t think a move to 205lbs will fare well for Pereira.
Anthony Smith admits he doesn't "give a s*it" about losing UFC Charlotte main event against Johnny Walker: "I'm good!"
Josh Evanoff - April 11, 2023
UFC light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith is okay with losing his headlining position. ‘Lionheart’ has been out of the cage since his clash with Magomed Ankalaev last July. In that outing at UFC 277, the Russian won by second-round TKO after Smith suffered an injury. As a result, the latter’s three-fight winning streak was snapped.
Anthony Smith questions whether the friendship between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili is going both ways: “What I’ve seen is Merab ride hard as s**t for his best friend”
Harry Kettle - March 15, 2023
UFC fighter Anthony Smith has questioned whether the friendship between Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili is too one-sided. Last weekend, Merab Dvalishvili earned the biggest win of his career as he completely outclassed Petr Yan. In doing so, he put himself firmly in line for a shot at the UFC bantamweight championship.
Anthony Smith would like to see the UFC make changes to existing weight classes: “I’d love to see no weight cap on heavyweight”
Harry Kettle - February 14, 2023
UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has given his thoughts on the UFC’s current weight class structure. For many years now, there’s been a lot of debate regarding weight classes in mixed martial arts. Some believe we should have more, whereas others think the actual limits should be different.
Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker set to headline May Fight Night event
Cole Shelton - February 10, 2023
Anthony Smith and Johnny Walker will meet in the main event of a Fight Night card in May. According to MMAFighting, Smith and Walker have agreed to headline a Fight Night card on May 13 at a location TBD. MMA Ideas was the first to report that the fight was in the works, and BJPENN.com has since confirmed that May 13 is the targeted date.
Anthony Smith “can’t get enough” of Dana White’s Power Slap League, shares excitement for pay-per-view event: “I will pay it, I don’t care how much it costs”
Harry Kettle - February 2, 2023
UFC fighter Anthony Smith has admitted that he loves Dana White’s new Power Slap League despite the controversy surrounding it. Over the course of the last few weeks, there’s been a lot of questions surrounding ‘Power Slap’. Some wonder how it’s been sanctioned, whereas others are hooked and want to know more.
Anthony Smith details weight miss as the backup fighter for UFC 283 title fight: "I’ll be the first one on the scale for my next fight"
Cole Shelton - January 24, 2023
Anthony Smith has addressed why he missed weight as the backup fighter for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 283. In the main event of the pay-per-view card in Brazil, Glover Teixeira was set to face Jamahal Hill – who was originally booked to face Smith. With Smith’s fights off, he was asked to be the backup fighter for the main event but missed weight so he would’ve been ineligible to win the belt had either Teixeira or Hill not been able to fight.
Anthony Smith reveals plans to serve as the backup fighter for ‘Teixeira vs. Hill’ at UFC 283 in Brazil: “I’ll be there to step in”
Susan Cox - December 19, 2022
Anthony Smith has revealed his plans to serve as the backup fighter for ‘Teixeira vs. Hill’ at UFC 283. It will be Glover Teixeira (33-8MMA) and Jamahal Hill (11-1 MMA) facing off in the light heavyweight main event at UFC 283 on Saturday, January 21st at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Anthony Smith believes Darren Till needs to take a big step down in competition: “He’s gonna have to back way up”
Susan Cox - December 16, 2022
Anthony Smith believes Darren Till needs to take a big step down in competition. It was last Saturday night, December 10th at UFC 282, where Darren Till (18-5 MMA) was defeated by Dricus Du Plessis (18-2 MMA) in a middleweight battle.
Jamahal Hill reveals Anthony Smith will help him train for Glover Teixeira fight at UFC 283: "All the credit goes to him"
Josh Evanoff - December 12, 2022
UFC light-heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill will be bringing an interesting name into his training camp. ‘Sweet Dreams’ has been out of action since a knockout victory over Thiago Santos in August. Following that win, Hill was scheduled to face Anthony Smith in March. The pair were expected to headline a Fight Night main event, but that will no longer happen.
Anthony Smith dismisses Conor McGregor's chances against Dustin Poirier in fourth fight: "He wasn’t really in either of those last two fights"
Josh Evanoff - December 6, 2022
UFC commentator Anthony Smith doesn’t believe Conor McGregor will have much success in a fourth fight against Dustin Poirier. ‘The Notorious’ has been out of action since his trilogy bout with ‘The Diamond’ last July at UFC 264. In that outing, the Irishman broke his leg in the final seconds of round one, handing him the TKO defeat. The loss was the second straight to Poirier for McGregor. The Irishman previously defeated the Louisana native in their first meeting in 2014.
Anthony Smith responds after being labeled a “rat” and a “loser” by former UFC champion Conor McGregor
Harry Kettle - November 30, 2022
Anthony Smith has responded to being called a “rat” by Conor McGregor during their recent USADA debate. Aside from being a top UFC light heavyweight, Anthony Smith is also a pretty solid analyst. He’s opinionated, he has informed views, and he’s well-spoken.
Conor McGregor unloads on "rat" Anthony Smith after 'Lionheart' says he's bothered the Irishman isn't in the USADA testing pool: "You embarrassment of a man"
Cole Shelton - November 26, 2022
Conor McGregor has blasted Anthony Smith. Recently, Smith took aim at McGregor for not being in the USADA testing pool. He says it bothers him due to the fact the Irishman is getting closer to a return while his friend Chris Weidman is not.
Anthony Smith explains why Conor McGregor pulling out of the USADA testing pool “bothers the f**k” out of him: “There's only one reason you would do that”
Cole Shelton - November 23, 2022
Anthony Smith doesn’t like how Conor McGregor pulled out of the USADA testing pool. After McGregor broke his leg in his UFC 264 fight against Dustin Poirier and began his rehab, it was revealed he wasn’t getting tested by USADA. After people began asking questions, it was revealed the Irishman withdrew from the testing pool.
Anthony Smith reflects on loss to Jon Jones, believes former champion is very beatable: "He's not that good"
Josh Evanoff - November 22, 2022
UFC light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith feels he should’ve performed better against Jon Jones. ‘Lionheart’ and ‘Bones’ faced off in March 2019 at UFC 235. The bout was the biggest of Smith’s career. While he was previously an unranked gatekeeper at 185 pounds, his move to light-heavyweight the prior year had him positioned as one of the best in the weight class.