by Due to the surprise booking of the Glover Teixeira-Jamahal Hill title fight for UFC 283, former title contender Anthony Smith is suddenly uncontested. “Lionheart” was originally booked to face Hill at the main event of the UFC’s London event in March.
When Smith found out in real time during the UFC 282 post-event broadcast on Saturday, he was visibly lacking in mention. But after digesting the situation, she gave a longer and more thoughtful response during her recent TV appearance. MMA Time.
“[ESPN producer] jake [Lebowitz] I’m not exaggerating, maybe it came out three seconds ago [ESPN broadcaster Ashley Brewer’s] mouth.
“Thanks to Jake for trying his best to give me the best warning he could, but he was as fast as they could get to me. Jake walked in and said, “Hey, attention, Jamahal Hill vs. for the championship. They’re going to explain Glover,” and then he said that, and I said, “Damn it. It sucks.”
“It’s not directed at anyone and that’s the worst part of it. I’m just angry a little bit life, some circumstances, some myself but I’m not mad at Jamahal, I’m not mad at the UFC. It’s just awful.
Smith has gone through a difficult time dealing with injuries, surgeries and the loss of his mother over the past few months. Despite the anger he feels, he sees the reasoning behind the pairing.
“It looks like they’re trying to close an open circle. When Jiri dropped the title and said, ‘Oh, this is going great. We’ve got this fix, here we have two top light heavyweights, one formerly holding that title and the other right in the championship contention, let’s have that fight.’
“It’s supposed to close the loop, and when that doesn’t happen, I honestly think Brazil is a great market for the UFC. I think there’s intrigue there and they’re trying to add to this card and I think they owe it to Glover, so I think that’s part of the job.” Well, this is an opportunity to get Glover back, to add some pop to that card.”
“It makes sense, because what would you do without those two men? I think you can have that fight right now because there are no champions and let’s get that into action, but if you start taking the time, it gives a lot of people the opportunity to get involved and start the discussion.
“It’s easier to do then and there, and I understand that. The wheels of business need to keep turning.”
Smith’s next fight is yet to be finalized. UFC 283 takes place on January 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The protagonist of the event is the fourth title fight between flyweight champion Deivson Figueiredo and interim title holder Brandon Moreno.
