Anthony Smith Believes He’s Done Enough to Earn a Fight With Jon Jones

Anthony Smith spoke with MMAjunkie backstage at UFC Fight Night 139 about his desire for a fight with Jon Jones and more. Highlights are below:

On those who say he isn’t ready for Jones: “Man, people have been saying that (expletive) about me forever. I wasn’t ready for (Volkan) Oezdemir. I wasn’t ready for (Mauricio) ’Shogun’ (Rua). Like I keep saying, maybe I’m just good. I don’t know when people are going to entertain that, but I might just be good.”

On Jones: “I think that Jon is in a weird place right now. I’ve won three fights in five months. Jon Jones has won three fights in five years. Like, what more do I need to do? I’m busting my ass. I’m in great, entertaining fights with three finishes. So a part of me is like, what are you even talking about? You don’t even really fight. Until just now, Jon Jones wasn’t even eligible.”

On Jones’ reaction to his comments: “I think some of the things I say bother him, because I think it’s true. I’m not one of these guys trying to build any animosity with Jon. I don’t give a (expletive) about Jon Jones. It’s about the title to me. Likely, he’s going to be the one that has it, I would guess, so he’s the one people ask the questions about. The things that bother Jon are when people ask me if I think he cheats. Yeah, I do. It’s a failed drug test. How can you argue that? He’s been suspended twice for (performance-enhancing drug) use. I’m not the only one talking about Jon Jones. I don’t know what his deal is, but I honestly don’t give a (expletive).”

On getting the potential fight: “I think I’ve done enough, period. But I don’t have any problem speaking the truth. I’m not out here to start (expletive) with anybody. I don’t have a problem with Jon Jones. I don’t know Jon Jones, but I can only speak to what we all know. And I’ve never talked about him personally. That’s the route that a lot of people go with Jon, is they want to talk about his personal life, all the trouble he’s been in. I don’t give a (expletive) about that either. I just want to fight him, and I think he cheats – that’s it. I think that no one else in the division right now, other than me and (Gustafsson), are legitimate threats to Jon Jones,” Smith added. “So if he gets through Gus, who else … are you guys going to worry could take Jon Jones out? Is anybody worried about (Ilir) Latifi or (Jan) Blachowicz? Nobody’s thinking, ‘oh, Jan might beat him.’ We all know that’s (expletive). I’m the only one that has legit finishing abilities against Jon Jones. I’m the only one that can physically match up with him.”