Anthony Smith gave his thoughts on the recent commentary beef between Dominick Cruz and Daniel Cormier.
Cruz made headlines leading up to his win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269 last month when he criticized Cormier for his commentary and lack of research going into a fight.
It created a whole storm as while he still remains good friends with Cormier, the latter was taken aback that he chose to make those comments at a press conference.
Cruz, however, believes he was just letting his opinion be heard after being asked a question about hearing his fights on commentary.
As someone who does part-time work as an analyst for ESPN, Smith gave his thoughts on the whole saga and believes Cruz was in the wrong simply because of where he made those comments.
“I would just check down to kind of what Dominick said himself later on after those comments — it’s not what you say, it’s where you say it and who’s listening,” Smith told Middle Easy. “That was my issue with it. Everyone has their rights to an opinion. I’m sure I’m not everyone’s cup of tea when it comes to my analysis and when I’m working the desk at ESPN. That’s just who I am and how I do it. Everyone is entitled to that.
“How many times have I gone off about some of the things they’ve said but I’ve been very vague about it if I brought it up but I’ve also went to those people first and had those conversations with them. It’s just a time and place thing. I’ve had issues with Bisping, Daniel and even Felder. I didn’t come out and just trash them. Me and Bisping had a little bit of a thing but it wasn’t like I was talking badly about his performance and his research. I just didn’t like what he said…even if you say it somewhere, I think fight week, the week of your own fight when the biggest eyes and most microphones are round you — I think it’s a bad time and place but they seem to be okay with it at this point.”
Anthony Smith Predicts Colby Covington vs. Jorge Masvidal
Switching over to some more serious beef, Colby Covington finally takes on Jorge Masvidal in their long-awaited grudge match in the UFC 272 headliner on March 5.
Most observers have Covington winning the fight. And as far as Smith is concerned, he doesn’t see how Covington doesn’t win — even as a Masvidal fan himself.
“Man, I knew you were going to ask about this one. Colby Covington is almost a mirror of Kamaru Usman, he really is,” Smith added. “He’s not quite as good a striker, he’s not as clean or technical or powerful. I think his cardio is probably better than Usman’s, his pace is higher, his output is higher.
“I don’t see anything in the Usman Masvidal fight that leads me to believe that Colby Covington won’t win that fight. That’s an unpopular opinion but like him or hate him, Colby Covington, the guy can fight…Masvidal has historically not done well with high-level, high-paced wrestlers. So big Masvidal fan, but I don’t like the matchup for him.”
You can watch the full interview below:
