After third consecutive victory, Smith challenges Jon Jones: 'I want to be the man to defeat him'

Smith submitted Oezdemir in the main fight of UFC Moncton (Photo: Reproduction/FacebookUFC)

Anthony Smith He is definitely going through the best phase of his career. After finishing Volkan oezdemir, number 2 in the light heavyweight division, in the main fight of UFC Moncton, held last Saturday (27), in Canada, the North American fighter has already set his sights on his next target: the former champion Jon Jones. Sincerely, Smith states that he considers Jones the favorite for the scheduled rematch against Alexander Gustafson, in December, and admits that he will hope that the former champion regains the 93kg belt so that he can then be responsible for stopping ‘Bones’.

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“If he’s not worried about it, what is he watching? Jon Jones should be concerned about Alexander Gustafson first. I think the performance was exactly one Jones would hate to see. You're not going to beat me with just a few hard punches. This will not happen. But if I were Jon Jones, I would probably be a little more concerned about Alexander Gustafson than with me now. (…) The best Jon Jones You have to show up to win this fight. He claims he didn't train at all for the first contest, so if the real Jon Jones appears, I imagine he wins. I hope he wins because he's who I want to face. This is no disrespect towards Gustafsson. I want to be the man to defeat Jon Jones, but he needs to get past Gus first,” Anthony declared at a press conference shortly after his victory.

The triumph over Oezdemir was the third in a row for Smith, who had knocked out the former champions Rashad evans e Mauritius Shogun, in June and July this year, respectively. With four fights held in eight months, the ‘Lionheart’, as he is known, highlights that he needs to rest and recover his body to return to performing at a high level.

“I'm going to go ahead and clarify this now: I said I'll fight anyone, anytime, anywhere, but I also said I need a rest. My hand is really hurt. We're definitely going to need an X-ray. My leg is really hurt. So I don't want any of these idiots that are in the division - nothing against Dominick reyes, but I can see it now. As soon as I get home on Monday, they're going to challenge me, and I already said I needed a break, and they're going to use this as an opportunity to say I'm running. I'm telling you now: I need a damn rest”, concluded the fighter.