Anthony Smith is now interested in making his next fight. The fighter still has no idea who he will fight, but he is certain about what he wants: an “exciting” match.
Smith fought Khalil Rountree at UFC Fight Night 233, where he stepped in on short notice to replace Azamat Murzakanov. The 35-year-old said he liked “doing crazy sh*t” but later saw himself being defeated by the opponent. In the event, Rountree Jr. prevailed after making the Smith wobble in the second and third rounds, which later resulted in a TKO win.
After this loss, “Lionheart” is now ready to take another fighter, albeit still clueless about who it will be with. For him, it could be anyone, ranked or unranked, as long as the name would give him the thrill he wants during preparations.
“I’ve been trying to change my mindset a little bit, and there’s a couple things that matter,” Smith said in an interview on his Believe You Me podcast. “The name doesn’t really matter – how I feel about it really matters. I want something that’s exciting. And maybe divisionally, it doesn’t make sense, I don’t know. I don’t care if they’re ranked. I don’t care if they’re not ranked, ranked high. I don’t care who it is. It has to be something that I deem as fun. And I know that’s really stupid, but when I hear the name, I want it to be exciting. I want it to be like, ‘Oh, that would be fun.’
“I need something that’s fun, and I want to look forward to it. The danger factor doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t care how hard the fight’s going to be. I want it to be someone that gets me excited, and I want it to be somewhere that gets me excited. The timing – I’m less concerned with the timing. May or June.”
However, while he’s eager to have his next match booked, Smith knows that he has to prepare his body, which is apparently not in the best condition at the moment.
“I’m ready to fight,” Smith said. “It kind of just hit me. Not fight, fight, but ready to start finding a fight. Pick up the workouts a little bit. I’m fat. I’ve got this belly hanging over the pants. I was 237 like a week ago. I’m heavy. When I’m off, I’m off. I’m all the way off.”
