Anthony Smith Out To Prove He’s More Than Just Legend Killer

Streaking UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith will participate in by far the biggest fight of his MMA career when he meets Volkan Oezdemir in the main event of this weekend’s (Sat., October 27, 2018) UFC Fight Night 138 from the Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

The No. 10-ranked Smith will meet the No. 2 “No Time” in what is correctly perceived title contender bout in the shallow UFC 205-pound ranks. “Lionheart” has won five out of previous six UFC bouts, with each win (and the one loss) coming by knockout. Smith believes he should fight the winner of UFC 232’s Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson rematch should he defeat “No Time.”

After moving up to 205 pounds earlier this year, Smith has put an extra exclamation point on his last two wins. He knocked out former UFC champs Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua in the first round. The huge victories earned him a ton of momentum.

But there were also several detractors who simply wrote off Evans and Rua as washed-up one-time greats. Smith recently addressed that in an interview with UFC.com. Not surprisingly, Smith wants to use UFC Moncton as a vehicle to prove he’s more than beating aging greats:

“I’m really excited to be able to prove to everyone else what me and my team already know. The narrative has always been I’m knocking out guys that are past their prime and guys that are a little bit older and no one gives Rashad or Shogun any credit for the things they’re able to do and their own abilities.”

"I think the narrative is going to change it’s not about my opponents I think that people eventually they’re going to have to admit that I might just be that good."

Here's another clip from our interview with @LionheartSmith #UFCMoncton pic.twitter.com/Lo5XUzJlpA

— Gavin Porter (@ItsGavinPorter) October 23, 2018

Something To Prove

Smith continued on with his belief that a win over recent title challenger Oezdemir would solidify just how good he really was in the eyes of many. Yet he didn’t think he needed to prove that, as he thought Rua would have beaten Oezdemir in the first place. The two were scheduled to fight in July until Smith stepped in on short notice.

In that sense, the opponent doesn’t matter to Smith. He knows everyone will soon realize his talents:

“And I think that after this fight it’s not going to be so much about how bad they are, it’s going to be maybe I’m really that good. I think that people are going to figure that out pretty soon.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with who I am fighting because I truly believe that Shogun would have beat Volkan and I still to this day believe that Shogun would beat Volkan just because of their styles. But I think the narrative is going to change; it’s not about my opponents. I think that people eventually they’re going to have to admit that I might just be that good.”

‘No Time’ Returns

There would be no room to deny ‘Lionheart’ is just that good if he gets by “No Time” in Canada. He railed off three straight victories over top opponents in 2017 to earn a shot at current champ Daniel Cormier. Oezdemir was dominated by “DC” at this January’s UFC 220, but there’s no much shame in that.

Oezdemir was then set to face Gustafsson and then Rua, but one injury or another put those bouts on hold. The Swiss striker’s comeback is clouded a bit due to his first UFC loss, the layoff, and the injuries.

Regardless, Smith will rise precipitously if he beats him. Then, and only then, will his doubters say he’s beating current contenders rather than aging ones.