Corey Anderson may not get the next shot at the UFC light heavyweight title, but if he doesn’t, he isn’t interested in facing Anthony Smith instead.
While a guest on “The Luke Thomas Show,” Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) responded to Smith’s callout, saying he actually called Smith (32-14 MMA, 8-4 UFC) out after he defeated Ilir Latifi at UFC 232 last December, but Smith turned it down.
And with his sights set on a title shot vs. light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, Anderson says Smith will have to wait.
“I have no interest in fighting Anthony Smith,” Anderson said. “I called Anthony Smith out after I fought at 232, and he answered back like two minutes later and said no, so now this time, he got to wait.”
Smith’s last octagon appearance was a fourth-round submission win over former two-time 205-pound title challenger Alexander Gustafsson in June. According to Smith and UFC president Dana White, Anderson was offered that fight against Gustafsson, but Anderson turned it down, thus why the UFC offered it to Smith, instead.
While Anderson doesn’t deny that, he says he had a very valid reason for turning that fight down. His son was being born on the day the UFC offered him the fight, and as soon as he got back to them, they had moved on and offered the fight to Smith.
But now, after Anderson scored the upset win at UFC 244, taking out the highly touted Johnny Walker, who many considered to be the next challenger at 205 pounds, “Overtime” says he’d rather wait for a shot at gold.
Jones recently tweeted that he has chosen Dominick Reyes as his next title challenger over Anderson, but Anderson doesn’t see anyone else he could possibly fight. In the meantime, he’ll be in the gym staying ready.
“I don’t see anyone in front of me,” Anderson said. “That’s the point. I beat Jan Blachowicz, I’ve beat everybody that’s fought for a title. I beat all of these guys, you know? Just give me my due, and I’ll let my manager figure out the rest of it. I’m just here to fight. I’m going to train and I’ll be ready.”
Corey Anderson: 'I have no interest in fighting Anthony Smith'
