Anthony Smith is aware of subtle mind games being played between himself and Jon Jones leading into their UFC 235 main event this Saturday from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. These games may not be overt, but Smith has noticed them.
“Oh, yeah, the mental warfare’s happening,” Smith told ESPN. “And it’s subtle, and I’m sure most people don’t notice it, but me and Jon know what’s going on. He’s trying to get over on me. He’s the big dog on campus, you know what I mean? He’s the senior, and I’m the freshman, you know? And he’s trying to make sure that that’s known.”
There’s only one problem to the game Smith believes Jones to be playing, and that is he is without an opponent:
“But he’s playing a game with himself,” Smith said. “Like, I just don’t care. I mean, you can be the big guy on campus. I don’t care. I’m coming regardless. All the other stuff has no bearing on the fact that I’m coming across that cage Saturday night.”
Another reason why Smith is not taking Jon Jones’s mind games seriously is because, Smith implies, the words being spoken are not coming from a credible individual:
“Jon doesn’t say anything for no reason. Everything he says has a reason behind it. He’s very, very smart. There’s subtle signs and signals to try to get me to think one way, and there’s no reason to worry about what he’s saying, because whatever he says is not actually what he means. So there’s no reason to pay attention to it.”
Have you noticed any mind games being played between Jon Jones and Anthony Smith headed into UFC 235?
