After recaliming his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title by demolishing Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 (replay) on Saturday (Dec. 29, 2018), Jon Jones took the chance to call out Daniel Cormier, daring him to come get his belt back.
But another man is also waiting in line for a 205-pound title fight, as Anthony Smith was in the Fox Sports studios breaking down the event, while hoping for his chance to challenge “Bones.” While he did get the opportunity to do it after the champ hopped on air for an interview, “Lionheart” picked a July date for the matchup, which is seven months from now.
That callout didn’t sit too well with his co-host Michael Bisping, who urged Smith to up his trash talk and call for a title fight right away. Jones also clowned on Smith for wanting to wait until “Intentional Fight Week,” which may have cost him his shot at the strap.
This man is trying to wait until July, I got some catching up to do. https://t.co/eUQ68uCMQY
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) December 31, 2018
Upon catching wind of Jon’s response, Smith took to social media to declare that he is actually ready to throw down anytime, anywhere.
I just thought that sounded fun. I think we can set the games aside, Jon. You and I both know I need a date and location. You name it, I’ll be there. https://t.co/8aO9MiwFtp
— Anthony Smith (@lionheartasmith) December 31, 2018
“Lionheart” earned his way to the top spot after racking up quite a win streak, taking out the likes of Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans in just 2.5 minutes of combined fight time. He followed up those dominant performances by chocking out Volkan Oezdemir in the third round last October.
Sitting comfortable at the No. 3 spot behind Gustafsson, there’s really no one else standing in Smith’s way for a shot at Jones. Unless, of course, “DC” decides to follow up on his acceptance of a trilogy fight against his bitter rival.
For complete UFC 232: ‘Jones vs. Gustafsson 2’ results and coverage click here.
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