T.J. Dillashaw believes Anthony Smith "not good enough" to win UFC gold: "He doesn’t even try to f**king stand up"
Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has harsh words for Anthony Smith, claiming the light heavyweight has never been "good enough" to win a UFC title.
'Lionheart' recently suffered a defeat at the hands of short-notice replacement Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 last month. 'The Caucasian' dominated Smith throughout, regularly taking him to the canvas, which the American rarely had an answer for.
The loss now means Smith, who turns 36 later this month, is 2-4 in his last six outings, and his dream of becoming a UFC champion appears to be over. He has previously fought for the 205-pound title once in his career, losing to Jon Jones via unanimous decision back in 2019.
While Anthony Smith has spent the majority of his career fighting against the odds to try and achieve UFC gold, one person who doesn't believe he has ever been capable is T.J. Dillashaw.
Dillashaw, who appeared on a recent episode of the JAXXON podcast, recently took aim at the light heavyweight veteran and had some harsh words for him, even opting to mock his 'Lionheart' nickname. Dillashaw said:
"No, never [In regards to Smith becoming a champion]. Dude, he’s not good enough. OK, so he gives up. Did he give himself that name or what? He gives up in there...The second round [vs. Dolidze], he doesn’t even try to f*cking stand up. Roman’s on his back, he doesn’t even try to stand up. I don’t give a sh*t. I’m fighting until I die, dog. I’m fighting with one arm, I’m doing whatever I can.”
Check out T.J. Dillashaw's comments here (28:50):
Anthony Smith admits UFC 303 loss puts an end to his title aspirations
Anthony Smith has admitted his dream of becoming a UFC champion appears to be over, after he suffered a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Roman Dolidze at UFC 303.
Following his loss, 'Lionheart' spoke with former fighter Din Thomas on MMA Today's SiriusXM show, where he stated he doesn't believe he'll ever have another opportunity to fight for the title. Smith mentioned how fighters like Michael Bisping and Glover Teixeira won gold late in their careers, however, he's not so sure that will happen for him anymore. He said:
"If we're being just honest here, that [loss] probably puts a nail in the coffin for my opportunity to ever win a title. There's chances. Obviously, there's the Bisping story and there's the [Dustin] Poirier resurgence and Glover... But I think that's probaby it [for me]."
Check out Anthony Smith's comments here: