Anthony Smith Weighs In On Jon Jones Being A ‘Dirty Fighter’

Following a 2018 where he demolished every light heavyweight he faced, Anthony Smith was dominated by champ Jon Jones in the main event of last night’s (Sat., March 2, 2019) UFC 235 (highlights here) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. But as it turns out, there was a cloud hanging over Jones’ latest win as there unfortunately often is. Based on the situation, it’s no surprise that Smith weighs in on Jones being a dirty fighter.

Jones hit Smith with an illegal knee in the fourth round, forcing Herb Dean to take two points from Jones. That’s an officiating decision rarely seen in the UFC. NSAC executive Bob Bennett said after the event that Dean saw some borderline tactics from “Bones” that caused the large point deduction. Jones would have indeed suffered the second disqualification loss of his career (he hasn’t lost in any other way) and Smith would have become champ by default.

But “Lionheart” said he was okay immediately and wanted to continue. Jones said the knee was unintentional and had high praise for Smith’s fighting spirit. Despite that will to compete, however, it could be argued the fight was affected greatly by the illegal strike to a downed opponent. You could also argue it wouldn’t have mattered, but that’s not the point. Jones is getting a reputation for breaking as many rules in the cage as he does out of it regardless.

Anthony Smith On ‘Bones’

Because of that growing rep, Smith was asked if “Bones” was a “dirty fighter” at the post-fight press conference after the event. Following a long pause where it seemed like he maybe wanted to say he was, a noticeably emotional Smith gave a cryptic, more politically correct response:

“I don’t know. I don’t know. Uh, are you talking about the kick and the knee, and all the other bulls**t?”

“As far as the PED stuff, I mean, it’d be really easy for me to sit here and blame that, man. As far as that goes, no, I don’t think he is right now. I’m not saying that he’s never been. Again, I’m not gonna give Jon a pass. I think he has used PEDs in the past, but I think that right now, he’s a clean fighter.

“Until I see the knees and the kick from the outside, I can’t answer that either.”

Smith was yet again classy in his response. He praised Jones for being smart in the fight and admitted he couldn’t get anything going against the stifling great. He still called the illegal strikes, “bulls**t,” however, indicating a little bit of discord over them. Ultimately he wouldn’t take the easy way out, making it a moot point.

“Lionheart” guaranteed he’d cut a path back to Jones at 205 pounds. Was there really anything that suggested the outcome would be different the second time around?