Anthony Smith Provides Update On Octagon Return
Anthony Smith’s return to the Octagon might come a lot sooner than fans expect.
Smith comes off of a big submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden back in June. Now that he’s dealt with some post-fight injuries, Smith is ready to get back into the Octagon. Speaking on his weekly MMA Tonight on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation show, Smith provided fans with an update on when we can expect his return.
“Lionheart” said his opponent is already locked in, but a venue and date for his fight has yet to be determined. (H/T BJPenn.com)
“We got some things in the works that I imagine that here in the next week, we’re going to have some news for you guys. It’s not an opponent problem, it’s a venue problem. Opponent is locked in, it’s location [still being worked on].”
Smith then gave his thoughts on a pivotal light heavyweight bout coming up between Jan Blachowicz and Corey Anderson. The winner could very well determine who is next in line for a shot at the 205-pound title. Smith said he thinks the fight is pretty ridiculous given both men turned down fights with himself. However, he understands that Blachowicz, in particular, is chasing Anderson to avenge a past loss.
“I think it’s a silly fight to be honest. Both of those guys were offered fights with me in the last two, two-and-a-half weeks, both of them turned it down. I understand. I’m not going to give Jan any grief for turning the fight down, because he turned it down to chase Corey Anderson.
“I understand that, he’s got a loss to him, he wants to avenge that loss. Even post-fight [vs Anderson] he didn’t talk about me, he talked about Corey Anderson and he talked about Thiago Santos. I know better than anybody wanting to avenge a loss, so him wanting to get back to that and Corey being available and highly-ranked, makes sense.”
Although he has respect for Blachowicz, Smith can’t say the same for Anderson, who he called a “coward.”
“Corey Anderson is a coward. He had every opportunity in the world, he begged me for a fight when I already was matched with Jon Jones, after he beat Latifi. He was constantly talking shit, constantly calling me a middleweight that I’m not a real light heavyweight, all the trash talk we’ve already gone over.
Who would you like to see Smith fight next upon his return to the Octagon?
