UFC President Dana White believes Anthony Smith’s entire UFC on ESPN 18 process serves as an example for other fighters to follow.
It is not often that a ranked fighter will volunteer to fight an unranked opponent on short notice in today’s UFC. But as Anthony Smith has demonstrated in the past, he is a true fighter’s fighter who will do and decide things that most men would not. So when Devin Clark lost his opponent for UFC on ESPN 18, Anthony Smith stepped up. And when the fight got moved up to the main event slot after the Blaydes/Lewis fight was canceled, Smith requested that the fight be five rounds. Smith would put a stamp on his commendable professionalism with a first-round submission to close out the night. The boss approves.
“These are the things you’ve got to do,” White told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 18 post-right press conference. “You’ll see in this business a lot, guys who try to hold their spots and not fight anybody. That ain’t the way to do it. What he did tonight, that’s the way you do it. Are you still that good? If you’re still that good, then you should go out and do what you did tonight to a guy like Devin Clark: (a) young, hungry stud who wants to work his way up and steal your spot. You’ve got to go out and make a statement, and he did that tonight. People respect that.”
Despite having lost two fights in a row heading into last night, Anthony Smith was still the 6th ranked light heavyweight in the world, so he had very little to gain by accepting the fight against Clark. As Dana White expressed in his post-fight comments, it is difficult enough to get a fighter to accept “risky” fights where their rankings could take a hint, let alone have that fighter willingly volunteer to accept such a fight on short notice. But if you are truly an elite fighter or someone who believes to be the best in the world, then the risk should not deter you, and your self-confidence should be vindicated in victory. White believes this is exactly what we saw out of Anthony Smith last night.
“He looked awesome,” White said of Smith’s performance. “He came in to make a statement, and message received. He looked good.”
Anthony Smith had lost two straight fights heading into last night, but his victory over Devin Clark indeed transmitted a message well-received by the UFC president and fans around the world: he’s back.
Do you agree with Dana White that Anthony Smith just set an example for other fighters to follow?
