In the UFC jungle, Anthony Smith may very well be going from facing an old lion to a Brown Bear in the gauntlet for light heavyweight supremacy:
With a one-sided first-round KO over Rashad Evans, there is now a “Brown Bear” attempting to encroach on the Lionheart’s backyard. Speaking with BJ Penn Radio, Devin Clark called out Smith for a bout at UFC Fight Night 135:
“There’s a fight in Nebraska I believe,” Clark said on the radio program. “Anthony Smith, he just had a big victory and he really wants to be on that card. He’s from Omaha, Nebraska, I think, and I’m a Midwest guy too and I love to fight. I’d love to have that as a fight. Anthony, he’s a really tough dude, and I think that would be a great matchup.
“Fans would come from both sides, so it would be great.”
Clark feels that the contrast of style makes the fight interesting, and he makes no secret that he believes the clash favors him:
“He’s more of a striker and I’m a wrestler,” Clark said. “I think I could take him down and I would have to watch out for his striking — definitely not do it how Rashad did… duck his head. Anthony’s got the knees and he’s got the elbows and got all these strikes and counter-strikes that can get you. He’s a knockout guy.”
Clark went on to make it clear that he is doing his part to bring this matchup to reality:
“I put a tweet out to see if [The UFC] would bite and we’ll see what happens, but I would love that fight. I know he wants a ranked guy but I think that fight would speak for itself whether we’re ranked or not. That’s a really tough fight for both of us. He’s a really good guy and I respect him, I think that’s why I want the fight so bad.”
Anthony Clark took to Twitter to respond to Clark’s callout, proclaiming that he is open to facing anyone who intrudes on his territory:
As the great @ChaelSonnen said,
“Send anyone you want. But don’t send anyone that you want back”
To anyone willing to come to my backyard and face all of #huskernation and i… come on if you’re comin??♂️ #UFCLincoln https://t.co/MSMZTckEru
— Anthony Smith (@lionheartsmith) June 19, 2018
With both fighters being open to the fight, the Lionheart and the Brown Bear may be on a Midwestern collision course this summer.
Is this a fight that makes sense for both fighters?
