Stephen A. Smith Acknowledges He’s Not A UFC Expert
Stephen A. Smith is not a UFC expert.
That should be known to most in the combat sport world as the ESPN commentator has become somewhat of a meme for his controversial opinions when it comes to mixed martial arts.
The most famous one, of course, was his opinion that Donald Cerrone gave up against Conor McGregor while there have been plenty of others along the way.
And while discussing who he thought was the pound-for-pound best fighter in the sport following Kamaru Usman’s win at UFC 261, Smith acknowledged he was far from an expert.
Right after botching Colby Covington‘s last name.
“I still think it’s Jon Jones,” Smith said on “First Take” (via MMA Junkie). “I still think it’s Jon Jones. Listen, I saw Colby ‘Co-vin-ton’ talking a lot of junk about [Jorge] Masvidal after the fight, and obviously he lost to Usman in five rounds, but that brother can fight. When he talked about Masvidal and his record had 14 losses coming into the fight, I got more respect for Masvidal than he does, but then again I’m not a UFC fighter like he is, so his opinion is more qualified than mine.
“Plus, I’m not an expert like idiots out there try to accuse me of pretending that I’m being just because I’m commenting. No, I’m a fan. I’m not an expert on the UFC. I didn’t start watching until a few years ago.”
You can watch that moment below:
