Exclusive: Anthony Smith talks about finishing Jon Jones; what the fight at UFC 235 means to him
UFC 235: Jones vs Smith will see the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones put his title on the line against the fighter who fought his way to the top -- Anthony Smith.
Smith promised to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at the pay-per-view, which promises to be one of the top events for UFC anytime soon.
I was fortunate enough to be able to pose a few questions before Anthony Smith prior to his fight with Jon Jones.
Tune in to Sony Six and Sony Six HD for all the action from UFC 235's main card at 8:30 AM, 3rd March.
Q. Volkan Oezdemir recently said that your durability gives you an advantage over Jon Jones. Is this something you believe?
AS: Yes I do believe that, I think Volkan found out the hard way what we have known this whole time and it is going to take more than a little bit of pressure and some hard punches to get me out of there and I think I am going to do the same thing to Jon Jones.
Q. You said that you would either finish Jon Jones or ‘die trying’. What’s your mental and physical preparation like heading into this fight?
AS: I said I would be a “world champion or die trying” and I absolutely mean that and I absolutely mean that I will finish Jon Jones. I think he is very susceptible and he is a human and I think that no matter how good he is he makes mistakes like any other human and I am going to capitalize on his mistakes.
Q. You gave a shock to everyone beating Oezdemir in your last fight against him. What did it feel like after that victory?
AS: It felt exactly how I thought it would, just because everyone else was shocked doesn’t mean that I was. Volkan is a phenomenal fighter and absolutely powerful and technical, me and my coaches had a game plan to deal with everything that he brought to the table and we are going to do the exact same thing with Jon Jones.
Q. What does this fight mean to you?
AS: I think that the division is more exciting and dynamic than it has been in a long time and I have contributed to that a lot, I think by doing the things that I have been doing I have shown other fighters that they can move up a weight class and do things that are usually out of the norm but it’s my legacy. This fight is about the title and only the title.