Anthony Smith Is Not Scared Of “Delusional” Jon Jones Heading Into Their UFC 235 Clash!
Anthony Smith and Jon Jones had a beef. Smith, who works on FOX as a fight analyst, got one of the most unpleasant tasks at the end of 2018! He was covering the division he competes in, and interviewed “Bones” following his title win over Gustafsson. The confrontation simply had to happen!
Did @JonnyBones and @lionheartsmith just set up a date for July?… pic.twitter.com/RwnkoSKhKC
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 30, 2018
Let’s remember, the former UFC star Kenny Florian ignited the spark, asking “Bones” whether he was interested in fighting Anthony Smith. Then “Lionheart” asked Jon Jones about his plans for July. Yet, UFC Light Heavyweight champion criticized him for “using his position to talk his way into a fight”. Jones later continued to troll Smith on Twitter, and furious Anthony snapped and replied, asking the match ASAP!
The two will meet at the main event of UFC 235, on March 2, in T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. But it looks like Anthony Smith thinks Jon Jones is not such a dangerous rival. He compares “Bones” with other Light Heavyweight fighters. (MMAMania.com)
“I think it’s goddamn amazing that all these people are assuming that if me and Jon Jones fight, he’s going to get me out of there in one round,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “He doesn’t hit any harder than (Volkan) Oezdemir and Hector Lombard. He’s not any better of a wrestler, for the most part, of guys that I’ve fought. And he’s not any better a jiu-jitsu guy that all the guys I’ve fought. He puts it together better than anyone that’s in the game right now. But he doesn’t wow me anywhere, especially the fight that he just had.”
Jon Jones defeated Alexander Gustafsson at the main event of UFC 232 to obtain UFC Light Heavyweight title. His performance was good, and he stopped “Mauler” via third-round ground and pound TKO (strikes).
But it looks like Anthony Smith is not scared of Jones. Actually, he sees “a delusional and arrogant rival” with tons of vulnerabilities.
“I wasn’t impressed,” he said. “And I don’t mean it wasn’t a fantastic performance, because it was. But I didn’t watch the fight and think, I couldn’t handle that. I saw a guy that has holes that can be exploited as long as you attack it in the right way. I also saw a guy that wasn’t nearly as arrogant. Jon’s biggest attribute is his genuine delusion. Jon is genuinely so delusional and so arrogant that he is unbeatable that it works in his favor, and he almost creates the illusion that is. He fights with this complete arrogance and disregard for his opponents. And if he loses that, he loses a lot of his ability.”
At the moment, Anthony Smith (31-13 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is on a hot streak, with three wins over Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, and Volkan Oezdemir. On the other hand, Jon Jones has never been knocked out, and his only defeat came to Matt Hamill on December 5, 2009. Steve Mazzagatti disqualified him because of illegal 12-6 elbows.
Do you think Anthony Smith is the first guy who might surprise Jon Jones? He is a very dangerous striker, but his ground skills are awesome too!
1 thought on “Anthony Smith Believes He’ll Bash “Delusional” Jon Jones At UFC 235”
Of course, Jon Jones would play paintball without a helmet. He’s gonna get a lot of picograms of paint in the face.