Off Guard: Anthony Smith unsure of next assignment, hopes for eventual Jon Jones title rematch

One of the bonus success stories of fight week at UFC 245 was the Quintet Ultra event that took place this past Thursday night at the Red Rock Resort Casino in Las Vegas. It saw a host of stars from the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and PRIDE go head-to-head in a light-hearted but highly-competitive team grappling competition on UFC Fight Pass.

The event was eventually won by Team UFC, led by current UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, and “Lionheart” sat down for an impromptu chat with MMA Junkie Radio’s “Gorgeous” George Garcia the following day to chat Quintet, media punditry and his hopes for his own fighting career.

“I think this is going to age really well,” said Smith, as he reflected on his busman’s holiday at Quintet Ultra. “I keep saying it over and over, but in a couple of years, we’re going to look back at this, and I think it’s going to be a big deal; I really do.”

There was a real spirit of fun that permeated throughout the competition, with banter flying both within and between the teams as the unique mix of retired veterans, young prospects and seasoned vets came together to form teams representing four of the most iconic MMA organizations in the sport’s history.

Although the event was clearly a lot of fun for the fighters, Smith (32-14 MMA, 8-4 UFC) admitted the competitive juices were flowing strongly not just on event night, but also the day before, as Team UFC planned their running order for the night.

“There was a lot of strategy,” Smith said. “That was one of the coolest parts. These are four guys that I haven’t spent a lot of time with. I haven’t spent a lot of time with ‘Rumble’ (Johnaon) or Clay Guida or (Sean) O’Malley. It was a lot of fun, and just getting ready in the back, it was like fun competition with no stress. But we were here to win. We really were. It’s a lot of fun, but we were here to win.”

Smith, who has also been spending time as a pundit on ESPN and on radio, says his time in the media is helping make him a “smarter fighter” ahead of his octagon return in 2020. And the Colorado-based Texan says he has been pushing hard to lock in a date for his next outing.

“I’ve been all over the UFC, man,” he explained. “A lot of it is a date and location problem. March-April is where we’re looking. Obviously Glover (Teixeira) and I have been here together all week. He’s in. I’m in. It’s just a case of what the UFC wants.

“There’s a couple of other matches I know people have got their eyes on. There’s the Volkan (Oezdemir)-(Aleksandar) Rakic fight, and I know Rakic is going to get jammed down my throat if he beats Volkan. There’s this Corey Anderson thing going on. I don’t know if they want me to fight around that time in case something happens with that fight and the title fight, too. So I think there’s going to be some jockeying that’s gonna go on, and then there’s a lot of dates and locations. It’s where they want to put me, and when.”

And although Smith may not be sure of his next assignment, he knows who he eventually wants to face inside the octagon in 2020 as he plots his path back to the title and the man who stands between him and the gold.

“I want it to be (Jon) Jones,” he said. “No matter what, I’m going for the gold. But if I had a preference, I want it to be Jon Jones. I want to right that wrong, and I really believe I was a shell of myself when I was in there and there was some other stuff that goes along with that, but I’m not going to make excuses. But it wasn’t me in there, and I want my chance to go in there. If I go in there and give it everything I’ve got and feel like this is the best I had, and he beats me, that’s just life sometimes. Sometimes you’ve got that one dude you just can’t beat, but I don’t think that’s Jon Jones.”