- Anthony Smith reacted to Bruce Buffer’s epic mistake at UFC 301
- “Lionheart” addresses possible retirement
- The former light heavyweight title contender accepts Alex Pereira’s grappling match challenge
Anthony Smith shared his thoughts on Bruce Buffer’s mistake at UFC 301, his latest win, retirement talks and Alex Pereira’s challenge.
Anthony feels bad for Bruce
Speaking to the media at his post-UFC 301 press conference, “Lionheart” made it clear that he has no problem with Buffer despite the longtime UFC announcer initially declared Victor Petrino as the winner.
“I feel really bad for Buffer,” Smith said. “I know how serious and how much he loves his job and how professional he is. He is really hard on himself. Me and Bruce are friends, like we work together a lot. So, he takes his job so serious. He takes it to the heart; he puts his heart and soul into this job. I feel bad because he’s probably bummed out about it,” Smith concluded. “I hope I get to talk to him after. I’m good with it. People make mistakes. It’s no big deal. I just hope he’s not beating himself up too bad.”
Bruce Buffer made the correct call for Anthony Smith real quick 😅 #UFC301 pic.twitter.com/qxzTGkKnT9
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 5, 2024
What a win in Brazil meant to Anthony
Smith lost to Thiago Santos the last time he fought in Brazil in 2018. That said, to finish Petrino via a first-round submission meant a lot to “Lionheart” and his career.
“I’m so happy. I was saying earlier, Brazil is so rich in history with mixed martial arts and it’s been a big part of my life just part of my history. I’m just happy to get one… Now we finally got one, I can just drop it now because that’s kind of been the story like Anthony doesn’t win in Brazil, now we can’t say that anymore,” Smith explained.
Anthony just want to be perform
When asked about possibly retiring if he ended up losing to Petrino, Smith said that was never the case. For the former light heavyweight title challenger, he would’ve considered it if he failed to perform well but clearly, he is still a good fighter and he wants to keep it as it is.
“I think it was performance-based,” Smith said of retirement talks. “I don’t think it’s about wins and losses at this point. I’m not even concerned with wins and losses anymore. I want to have good performance, had I gone out there and I was slow and I wasn’t reacting and I wasn’t able to do anything then maybe we have a tough conversation but from right now, it’s performance-based… I felt sharp, I felt good, I felt super present, I felt present in there… I’ve never felt like I felt in there tonight.”
Challenge accepted
Pereira also took the opportunity to accept Pereira’s $50,000 grappling match challenge. According to Smith, he’d definitely go for it as he is confident he could choke the Brazilian out.
“Alex Pereira said he would put up [$50,000], but I could start on his back? I could start on his back, hooks in, and I got five minutes to finish him, and he wants to put $50K up for it? I’ll take his $50K. I’ll take his money. If I start on his back, I’ll choke the sh*t out of him, 100 percent.”
Smith has put himself back to the win column following his devastating KO loss to Khalil Rountree at UFC Vegas 83. Though he hasn’t pick his next opponent yet, “Lionheart” previously said he is the toughest contender for Pereira at light heavyweight at this point.
