Anthony Smith open to switching weight classes following one-sided loss to Aleksandar Rakic
UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith is open to switching weight classes following a one-sided loss to Aleksandar Rakic at UFC on ESPN+ 33.
In the main event of the evening on Saturday, Smith suffered his second straight lopsided defeat when Rakic dominated him in the striking and grappling departments to win a unanimous decision. Considering Smith was coming off of a brutal fifth-round TKO loss to Glover Teixeira in his last fight, this is now two straight fights where Smith was not competitive with his opponent, and now he is considering swapping weight divisions.
Speaking to the media at the UFC on ESPN+ 33 post-fight press conference, Smith said that the loss to Rakic has him contemplating moving weight classes.
“I’ve never been one of the guys that’s out here pining and calling for more weight classes, but in these last couple of fights, that’s kind of where my brain goes. I’m just too big for 185, and you start getting into these bigger, stronger, taller, longer guys. They’re just so strong. I think I got some big decisions to make in my career and figure out where we go from here. It’s super frustrating to lose to a guy you feel you can beat,” Smith said (via MMAjunkie.com).
In the fight against Rakic, Smith was essentially held to the mat for the entirety of the fight by Rakic. Despite the two on paper both standing at 6’4″ with a similar build, it was clear that Rakic was the much stronger fighter based on how he was able to control where the fight took place. The question Smith is asking himself now is, does he lose weight and move back to middleweight where he previously competed, or does he put on weight and move up to heavyweight? At this point, all options are on the table.
“I don’t know. (185lbs) is still really tough. It’s a total lifestyle change, and that’s year-round. It’s not like one of those things where I can get into camp and change my diet and cut down. It’s a complete lifestyle change. I guess that’s one of the options. I guess the other option is to take some time off and get bigger. I don’t know. I’ve got some things to decide on,” Smith said.
Would you like to see Anthony Smith move down to middleweight, move up to heavyweight, or stay at light heavyweight following his loss at UFC on ESPN+ 33?
