Anthony Smith: Jon Jones Can’t Beat Me In Jiu-Jitsu

Anthony Smith is a heavy betting underdog heading into his light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones this weekend.

However, “Lionheart” doesn’t have an ounce of doubt about his skillset. In fact, speaking to the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast, Smith said he thinks he beats Jones if the fight goes to the ground (via MMA News):

“I’m okay with that. I love jiu-jitsu and we talked about it before, I started out as a jiu-jitsu guy. I never claimed that I’m some world-class striker, that’s everybody else.

“I’ve always said I’m a jiu-jitsu guy at heart, that’s how I started. And I’m more than happy to get into a grappling battle with Jon. I think that Jon puts everything together really really well. He’s really smart, he makes really good decisions especially on the fly.

“But in a jiu-jitsu match, I don’t think there’s a world that exists that Jon Jones beats me in jiu-jitsu. It just doesn’t happen.”

Jones will be making his first UFC title defense since 2015. Smith earned the opportunity with a three-fight win streak. In his latest contest, “Lionheart” submitted Volkan Oezdemir in the third round via rear-naked choke. He has been a proven finisher over the course of his career. Smith has racked up 17 wins by knockout and 11 by submission.

He’ll try to pull off one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts (MMA) history in the main event of UFC 235. The pay-per-view (PPV) goes down from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.