Anthony Smith Says Dominick Reyes Has No Idea What He’s Getting Into

Former opponent accuses the champion of fight week mind games.

One time light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Smith has sent a warning to Dominick Reyes ahead of his UFC 247 fight with Jon Jones. ‘Lionheart’ was on the wrong side of a dominant decision loss to ‘Bones’ at UFC 235 in March last year.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani earlier this week he expressed his belief that Reyes is in for a rude awakening throughout fight week and on fight night.

“I watched the interview with Jon (Jones), and he said something which is 100 percent true. Dominick Reyes has no idea what he’s getting into. It’s not even the X’s and the O’s. There is so much more to fighting Jon Jones which I learned now. It would have been pretty helpful before the fight. It’s a lot of things guys don’t talk about. I think some people are afraid that it’s going to make you look like a pansy or something. You know, like you’re not man enough to handle it. There is a lot of stuff that goes into fighting Jon Jones, its fight week and Dominick is about to find that out.”

The veteran MMA reporter asked Smith to expand on his thoughts and tell us what he wished he knew heading into his UFC 235 match-up with Jones, he said.

“All the people who treat you so well the week of the fight and the people you feel like are your friends. It’s very different when you’re fighting Jon Jones, going into fight week. Usually fight week is pretty relaxing for the most part, you’ve got media and stuff. It’s not like I’ve never been in a main event before I fought Jon Jones, it’s not like I’m not used to that. He’s very much the favourite and he messes with your schedule, he just messes with you the whole time. By the time you get to the fight you’re mentally exhausted. It’s a mind game. Everything Dominick was talking about in his interview before I came on it rings so true. But its not. He feels like that because Jon wants him to feel like that. Jon Jones never says something that isn’t 100 percent calculated. Everything he says, there is a reason behind it.”

Anthony Smith will try to earn a second shot at the title against another Jon Jones victim Glover Teixeira. The 205lb contenders will square off at UFC Lincoln on April 25. Whoever wins will have a good claim as next in line for a fight with the greatest light heavyweight of all time.

Published on February 7, 2020 at 4:48 am
Stay up-to-date with the latest MMA news, rumors, and updates by following the RED Monster on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Also, don't forget to add MiddleEasy to your Google News feed Follow us on Google News for even more coverage.

Related

Leave a Comment