Anthony Smith didn’t have any explicit opponent in thoughts for his final struggle and who he ended up with stunned him at first.
“Lionheart” is about to face Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas Metropolis on April 26. It’s a matchup that appears odd on paper given their vast hole in octagon expertise (Smith has fought 24 instances for the UFC and as soon as challenged for the sunshine heavyweight title, Zhang makes simply his third UFC look), so Smith wanted time to determine the logic behind the reserving.
“I didn’t have any strategies, however I used to be very shocked with the matchup, for certain,” Smith stated on his On Paper podcast. “That wasn’t a nasty factor, I simply was not anticipating that one, however as soon as I type of appeared into him slightly bit and sat on it, it makes loads of sense why they’d go in that route.”
After taking time to contemplate the the reason why they paired him up with Zhang, who Smith admits he knew little about when the identify was floated his manner, Smith is at peace with the choice. The 17-year veteran understands the problem of discovering an opponent for Zhang, a fighter with an 18-6 file nonetheless making a reputation for himself underneath the UFC banner, and sees why the matchmakers would decide him to check Zhang.
Smith doesn’t subscribe to the concept he’s merely being arrange as a showcase win for the up-and-coming mild heavyweight contender.
“I’ve loads of conversations with these guys—and in the event that they did, they’re in all probability not going to inform me—however Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have at all times instructed me that they don’t care who wins,” Smith stated. “They need good fights. They need attention-grabbing matchups. They usually put individuals in positions and it’s as much as you to do what you what you do with it.
“In fact, we will consider folks that have been favorably matched and put in some higher positions than others, however I’ve identified Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby and people guys a extremely very long time and so they’ve at all times been fairly straight-up with me, even in instances that I don’t prefer it. They’ve at all times been very sincere and really clear and his rationalization was actually that [Zhang] is thrilling and we don’t know the place he’s when it comes to his talent set and he’s hyper aggressive and onerous to match up and so they know that I need a struggle that’s going to be actually thrilling, not some boring scrape one out to complete my profession. It’s in all probability going to be a spotlight come what may and that provides them a possibility to let me have a enjoyable struggle and determine the place he’s at.”
In Smith’s most up-to-date struggle at UFC 310, he suffered a second-round knockout loss to Dominick Reyes. Smith entered the competition with a heavy coronary heart as he handled the demise of shut buddy and coach Scotty Morton. He went on to file his fifth loss in his previous seven fights.
Nobody would have blamed Smith if he determined to hold up the gloves after the Reyes struggle, however Smith feels it’s necessary to have a correct goodbye from the UFC.
“I didn’t get to conduct myself as if it was the final matchup or as if it was the final struggle,” Smith stated. “Clearly, I didn’t take pleasure in coaching camp in any respect, however I didn’t get to take pleasure in coaching camp figuring out that is my first final week of camp. Then you definately get into struggle week, like that is the final struggle week and the final weight reduce, and I didn’t get a possibility—and never that I’m not going to see these individuals once more as a result of I do work for the UFC and do loads of the published stuff—however I didn’t get to inform everybody that helps me, that helps all of us do our jobs, how appreciative I used to be of what they do. And that’s each single particular person on the UFC employees. That’s even all the way down to the folks that decide you up from the airport, the PI employees that does your meals that you simply type of simply come and seize them and go away, I don’t know that they get to listen to how appreciative individuals are on a regular basis as a result of it’s simply such a rat race.
“However I need to stroll by that struggle week and weight reduce and while you present as much as the sector and simply know not solely is that this the final time I’ve to do that, which there’s slightly bit of pleasure about that, the place I get to go on and I’ve acquired an entire life forward of me, hopefully.”
As for the place Smith’s head is at going into his retirement bout, he hasn’t even had time to course of the event, particularly given how far he has to go to be bodily ready for struggle week.
“I actually haven’t thought of that a part of it an excessive amount of,” Smith stated. “It’s simply that I’m fats… so I’ve acquired to get my weight down and get into form to begin coaching camp. In order that’s actually what I’m targeted on. I haven’t actually gotten too deep into the struggle camp really feel mentality.”
