Anthony Smith believes his jiu-jitsu game can’t be topped by Jon Jones.
This Saturday night (March 2), Smith will challenge Jones for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight title. The championship clash will serve as UFC 235‘s main event. This will be Smith’s first UFC title bout and Jones’ first championship defense in his current reign.
Anthony Smith Expresses Confidence In His Jiu-Jitsu Game
“Lionheart” appeared on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. When host Matt Serra mentioned Jones’ top control, Smith said he doesn’t believe “Bones” can best him in jiu-jitsu:
“I’m okay with that. I love jiu-jitsu and we talked about it before, I started out as a jiu-jitsu guy. I never claimed that I’m some world-class striker, that’s everybody else. I’ve always said I’m a jiu-jitsu guy at heart, that’s how I started. And I’m more than happy to get into a grappling battle with Jon. I think that Jon puts everything together really really well. He’s really smart, he makes really good decisions especially on the fly. But in a jiu-jitsu match, I don’t think there’s a world that exists that Jon Jones beats me in jiu-jitsu. It just doesn’t happen.”
Smith won his last bout via submission. He locked in a rear-naked choke on Volkan Oezdemir to secure his light heavyweight title opportunity. Smith has a whopping 17 wins by KO or TKO, but he also has 11 submissions. Smith will be a heavy underdog going into his title bout with Jones, but the challenger isn’t lacking confidence.
Do you believe Anthony Smith will be outmatched in all areas against Jon Jones, or can he find success?
