Quote: Jon Jones Is Dynamic But “Hittable”
Surging UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith picked up the biggest win of his MMA career by submitting Volkan Oezdemir in the main event of last weekend’s UFC Moncton.
The win gave Smith three straight stoppages at 205 pounds in 2018. It also has him the frontrunner for the next title shot in the relatively shallow UFC 205-pound division. The title is in a sort of limbo right now with champion Daniel Cormier fighting at heavyweight. He’s expected to be stripped the moment the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson main event starts at December 29’s UFC 232.
When that mess gets sorted out, Smith will be waiting. He believes he’s the clear-cut contender, and it’s hard to argue with that stance. “Lionheart” plead his case during a recent appearance with Luke Thomas on The MMA Hour this week:
“I just took out the No. 2 guy in the world. I’ve finished two former world champions back-to-back and then the No. 2 contender. The No. 1 contender’s fighting for the title and I think that Daniel Cormier has all but left the division. I don’t think that he’s coming back to 205. I don’t know who else would be in front of me, I don’t know who else is a legitimate threat to either one of those guys, no matter who wins the title.
“You might be able to throw (Ilir) Latifi in there, but if Gustafsson wins [against Jones], then that’s definitely out the window. So, I genuinely believe that I’m the only legitimate threat to either one of those guys. And I’m finishing people. There’s guys who are winning, but I’m finishing guys.”
It’s a good case, and there may be only one thing preventing that from playing out. If Jones wins, the shot may be Smith’s, but keeping “Bones” active is always the hardest part of the wait until this next fight. If Gustafsson pulls off the upset, well, things get substantially more complicated.
That would almost certainly necessitate a trilogy fight given the close nature of their classic first bout at UFC 165. In that case, Smith could be left out in the cold and have to fight again.
Still, his gaze is firmly fixated on the troubled-but-legendary “Bones.” He says his entire journey at light heavyweight has been about getting to the decorated former champion:
“I’d rather fight Jon Jones, because no one has a legitimate win over Jon Jones, and that’s the stuff that really gets me up,. Deep down, I truly believe that I can beat Jon Jones. But deep down, I know that I might not be able to — and that’s what drives me. That’s what motivates me.
“I’ve been thinking about Jon Jones since I’ve been at 205. It’s never been about ‘Shogun’ or Rashad or even Volkan. It’s trying to get through as many people as I can get through to get to Jon Jones.”
Smith then dove into his prediction for a potential fight with Jones. He insists Oezdemir is actually a ‘more dangerous’ opponent due to his one-punch knockout power – something Jones doesn’t necessarily have. But the onetime champ has a peerless fight intelligence and a dynamic skillset.
Despite his UFC-best reach, Smith pointed out that Jones beats people in close as well. That said, he believes the MMA legend is hittable nonetheless, and he matches up well with him:
“I think that Volkan is one of the tougher matchups for me in the entire division just because of the way that he fights. I think that Jon Jones is less dangerous than Volkan is — Jon Jones isn’t one-punch knocking out anybody. It’s just, that’s not his style. He’s super crafty, he’s dynamic, I think he has a high fight IQ, but I think that he’s hittable, and I think that I match up with him size-wise pretty well.
“Obviously he’s got a longer reach than everybody in the entire UFC, but I think that Jon Jones beats a lot of people in that short range with the elbows and stuff, and I think that I’m just as dangerous in that elbow fighting range as anybody in the division.”
