If Anthony Smith shocks the world at UFC 235 and hands Jon Jones the first non-DQ loss of his MMA career, where does the light heavyweight division go from there?
One name that sticks out is certainly Thiago Santos, who holds a victory over Anthony Smith just last year in the middleweight division and who currently sits at #4. There are also names like Dominick Reyes, who, if victorious over Volkan Oezdemir, could be knocking on the door of a title shot as well. There’s also Corey Anderson, who is in the mix and has been lobbying for a title shot for some time now. But perhaps the most expected next course of action would be an immediate rematch for Jon Jones, right? Not so fast says Anthony Smith.
“When they first started asking that question, it was a quick yeah,” Smith told ESPN regarding a hypothetical immediate rematch against Jon Jones. “But then, the more you think about it, like, why? Why does he get an immediate rematch? Why?
“Like, we’ve already set the precedent. Stipe Miocic didn’t get one. Daniel Cormier didn’t give him his immediate rematch. You know, he went on, and did his thing, and went on to the next challenge. I don’t see why I can’t do the same.”
Another big-name champion in his prime who was knocked off of his throne without ever receiving an immediate rematch is Jose Aldo, who lost his featherweight championship to Conor McGregor in 2015. Prior to that loss, Aldo had gone undefeated for 10 years. While Stipe Miocic and Jose Aldo are both great names, that is company that Jon Jones certainly would not want to join should Anthony Smith defeat him at UFC 235 and proceed to initiate Jones into the No-Rematch Club.
UFC 235 takes place this Saturday, March 2, live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Do you believe that Jon Jones should get an immediate rematch if he loses to Anthony Smith at UFC 235?
