‘Different Rules Apply To Him’

Anthony Smith has responded to Conor McGregor’s angry rant at him, expanding on what makes him unhappy about the Irish sports star’s treatment from USADA.

Over the weekend, Conor McGregor ripped into Anthony Smith over “Lionheart’s” criticism of McGregor’s USADA situation. Now Smith is firing back at “The Notorious,” albeit in a much more reasonable manner.

“It bothers the f— out of me that he pulled himself out of the USADA pool,” Smith said last week. “There’s only one reason you would do that. He’s looking jacked as s—.”

“This rat spoke to [Chris] Weidman who’d the same horrific injury and is having severe complications still, is bothered that I was able to heal/return to a normal way of life,” McGregor fired back in a multi-tweet rant. “He, like many other rats in my game, would be happier if I wasn’t able to play with my children the same again.”

“I thought you broke your leg yourself in your last fight lol you little dope,” McGregor added. “You embarrassment of a man! Keep my name out of your fucking mouth. P—k.”

In a new episode of Believe You Me, Smith responded.

“Like I’ve said, it was a medial malleolus break,” Smith said. “He compared it to his, but it’s a totally different part of the leg. I never said that mine was worse or that his was worse.”

“He made my whole point by having this freakout. He said he had to do it because he wasn’t healing correctly, and the break was so bad that the percentages were really low. I’m not even questioning the reason, I get it. If there’s something out there that can help me heal that I can do legally, I totally would.”

“But it’s not his reasoning, what bugs me is guys like Anderson, Chris Weidman, and myself, we’ve had those injuries and we didn’t have the ability to step out the USADA pool, get yourself healed, and then come back with no repercussions. That’s my issue.”

Quick note: Anderson Silva didn’t have to step outside the USADA pool because he broke his leg in 2013, two years before USADA began testing UFC fighters.

“You said ‘Technically, he’s not breaking any rules.’ That’s because different rules apply to him,” Smith continued. “I don’t have that capability. In the USADA rules, the only way you can get out of the pool is if you’re no longer in a contract with the UFC or you retire. As far as the rules are written, that’s in their rules.”

There’s actually a catch-all term in USADA clause 5.7.3 called ‘Athlete-Initiated Inactivity’ which is quite open ended. We don’t disagree with Smith on the point that few fighters would be able to claim that special status, and be considered for an exemption from the six month drug testing period to boot. But again, there’s wiggle room in the edicts, and McGregor clearly plans on using that to his full advantage.

“He was pissed,” Smith finished. “I called him out, said something about it, it was viewed a lot, media wrote s—y headlines, it triggered him. I think, deep down, Conor still is a fighter. So, I bet, deep down, he gets it. I bet he understands why that’s bothersome for some people. But is he gonna say that? No, never.”

“I never once said that Conor McGregor was breaking rules, and I think that was the insinuation, that he was cheating.”