Anthony Smith believes the rest of the Light Heavyweight division have been ‘exposed’ ahead of his UFC 303 bout.
‘Lionheart’ was originally scheduled to face Carlos Ulberg inside the T Mobile arena on Saturday (June 29) night, but was dealt a last minute change in opponent due to Ulberg’s withdrawal. Smith will face Roman Dolidze, who moves up from 185lbs for the contest.
When speaking to the media on Wednesday, the 35-year-old revealed that a multitude of Light Heavyweights had been offered the spot and turned it down. He said:
He's a big dude. I mean, he's not a small Middleweight, he's not the smallest Light Heavyweight, I'll tell you that. As far as impact goes, I think that him moving up says a lot about my division. So if you guys want to do your jobs, go ask every available Light Heavyweight why there's a Middleweight fighting this fight.
“They're going to make up a bunch of shit, but I think you guys can read between the lines every single one of them said no. So, you know, I'm the veteran, I'm the gatekeeper. Like, whatever those guys say, well, ‘Why does Anthony get paid so much and why does he get this opportunity and why does he do this?’
“Because I'm willing to do this shit that you guys won't do. Me fighting a Middleweight on Saturday proves that to everybody, so I think all those guys just got exposed.”
Locked in to face Ulberg, Smith admitted there was a minute amount of time where he was disappointed that the fight was no longer happening but is relishing the opportunity to face Dolidze.
So, I mean, I'm not a guy that really likes change that much. So like there was that initial like ‘m*therf***er’ you know, like God Dammit and like I was pretty comfortable at that point with the Ulberg fight. It's hard to not want to fight a guy like Dolidze.
I mean that with the utmost respect like he's an absolute dog who brings the fight. You don't have to convince him to fight. He’s got a great skill set. I think his style meshes well with mine where we can, I think we're going to, have a goddamn barnburner.
Just before his time with the media started, ‘Lionheart’ was presented with a jacket for 50 clean tests under the UFC’s anti-doping program. When asked about what it meant to him, the 56 fight veteran discussed the importance of testing in the sport.
“This means a lot to me. You guys know, I've always been, the anti-PED guy and really holding people accountable and holding their feet to the fire. Guys like me wouldn't survive without this program. I'm not the most gifted athlete. I never have been the most gifted athlete and I've just always been committed.
“It's not like there's wasn't opportunities early on in my career, just like a lot of people in my era that could have all been very different. But without Jeff and Donna keeping it clean, like guys like me aren't going to make it. We’re already a little bit behind, and we make up for it by being dogs and having a better work ethic and being able to go through the fire a little more than other people.
"But if people are getting a head start on us, the guys like me aren’t going to make it."
