Anthony Smith opens up on MMA fighters' vulnerabilities which make them hypersensitive to criticism: "I get in my feelings a little bit"
Anthony Smith recently gave his take on why fighters react to criticism in a certain way. Prizefighting is a tough profession, especially at the highest level of competition, and fighters tend to react furiously to criticism on many occasions.
Besides being a ranked light heavyweight contender in the UFC, Smith is also a popular MMA analyst. A few weeks ago, Smith's comments on Alex Pereira's skill set received a furious reply from the latter. While discussing fighters' vulnerability to criticism in light of this incident during a recent interview with Damon Martin, Smith said :
"It happens to me a little bit too, I get in my feelings a little bit. It's because fighters are so tied to fighting. Fighting, it's not so much this way for me anymore, but fighting used to be my identity. So if you picked against me in a fight and said, 'Well, I think this guy's going to beat him', I felt like you were attacking me personally. Like my core of who I am as a person." [H/T MMA Fighting]
Anthony Smith no longer feels hurt by the way his comments are perceived
Speaking further in the aforementioned interview with Damon Martin, Anthony Smith said that misunderstandings between fighters happen when comments are taken out of context to make headlines or short-form videos.
However, he admitted that it is part and parcel of sharing opinions in the public realm and said that it no longer affects him much. He added:
"I doesn't really hurt my feelings too much. But you don't really see a lot of these guys jumping at opportunities to hang out or go have dinner with Michael Bisping and me."
Besides dealing with the criticism and complications of being a fighter and analyst, Smith has been busy on the professional front. His podcast with Michael Bisping has gained a lot of traction in the MMA community while the recent win over highly touted Vitor Petrino got him back in the win column.
'Lionheart' will return to competition against Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303 as a late replacement. He stepped up for the fight after Ulberg's original opponent, Jamahal Hill, was forced to pull out due to an injury.