Las Vegas – UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith may be nearing the end of his career, but that won’t stop the UFC vet from taking a short notice fight against Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 this Saturday night.
“I’m kind of trying to keep everything, all these fights, in a box,” Smith told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“I just make the decision based on that. It’s kind of my new mindset. I’m just not concerned myself so much with the title or where I’m at in the division or who’s next. None of that matters. I just take whatever the offer is, and I put it in a box and I make the right decision based on that and not where it would get me if I win.”
Smith (37-19) wasn’t originally on UFC 303, but an injury to Jamahal Hill opened up a spot to take on Carlos Ulberg. Smith jumped at the chance to fight on a big PPV card.
“I was training with Jamahal. I’d already been helping him get ready for Ulberg. I’d already had Ulberg on my mind for four or five weeks trying to help Jamahal. Jamahal was in Omaha when kind of this whole mess kind of started,” said Smith.
“I had already been talking to Hunter (Campbell) and let Hunter know like look I’m in shape, I’m ready to fight, should you need me. This is before Jamahal was hurt. Then Jamahal got hurt.”
Hill falling out of UFC 303, and knowing Smith had been training with him, it was an easy decision to call ‘Lionheart’ to step in.
“I was like well f*cking think I know where this is going. That wasn’t exactly the plan, but it is what it is. I liked the Ulberg fight. I like his style, I like his game, he was streaking he’s hot right now,” he said.
Then Ulberg fell out of UFC 303 as well and Dolidze stepped up to fight.
“It’s a different fight. I’m not a guy that really likes change that much. There was that intial ‘ah mother f*cker’ you know. I was pretty comfortable with at that point with the Ulberg fight,” he said.
“It’s hard to not want to fight a guy like Dolidze, and I mean that with the utmost respect. He’s an absolute dog, he brings the fight, you don’t have to convince him to fight. He’s got a great skillset. I think we’re going to have a godd*mn barn burner. He’s not going to take a backwards step and neither am I.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Anthony Smith above. He takes on Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 on Saturday night.
