Anthony Smith believes Jon Jones beats a lot of his opponents before they even get into the Octagon. He says Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson are no different. Speaking to media recently, Smith noted that Gustafsson and Cormier got too focused on the negative aspects of Jones before their fights. As a result, they got distracted and allowed “Bones” to beat them (via MMA Fighting):
“Like I’ve been saying, I think Cormier and Gustafsson have spent a lot of time talking about the negative things that Jon does and who he is as a person and all the stuff he has going on,” Smith said.
“Listen guys, Jon Jones does a lot of things right. He does a lot of good things and that’s what I’m focused on. And all the good things he does is in the Octagon. That’s all I care about. All the other stuff is just a distraction.
“Cormier and Gustafsson let that distract them and they let Jon win. I’m not gonna let Jon mentally or emotionally beat me. It’s not gonna happen.”
Smith is riding a three-fight win streak at the moment. He earned his title opportunity with a third-round submission win over Volkan Oezdemir in October. Now, he’ll attempt to pull off one of the biggest upsets the division has ever seen. Jones will be making his first UFC title defense since 2015.
The pair will main event the UFC 235 pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tomorrow night (Sat. March 2, 2019).
What do you think about Smith’s comments regarding Cormier and Gustafsson’s losses to Jones?
