Anthony Smith hasn’t been forgiving with fighters who miss weight, and won’t start now that he’s found himself on the wrong side of the scale, himself.
The former UFC light heavyweight title challenger missed weight for his backup role for the vacant title fight between Jamahal Hill and Glover Teixeira this past Saturday in the UFC 283 main event. His services weren’t needed. Both Hill and Teixeira made weight and fought as scheduled. Hill won the title in a unanimous decision.
Smith (36-17 MMA, 11-7 UFC) came in four pounds over the 205-pound limit Friday in Rio de Janeiro. “Lionheart” assured fans he did his best to make weight, but things didn’t work out.
“It wasn’t for a lack of effort,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast. “It wasn’t for lack of effort. I spent 48 straight hours cutting weight. It wasn’t a lack of effort. No one saw me on the scale looking like I had an additional 20 pounds to lose. I got close, but it wasn’t close enough, and it’ll never happen again.
“I’ll be the first one on the scale for my next fight. And I’m not a serial weight misser. It happens. It wasn’t on purpose.”
Smith is not going to make any excuse, but did say fans are unaware of the many things that go behind the scenes.
As for his level of criticism toward fighters who miss weight, Smith’s stance remains the same. He said he’ll continue to condemn those who don’t hit the contracted weight.
“I’ve been an absolute a**hole about people missing weight,” Smith said. “You have one job: You have to show up on weight. That’s the easiest part of the job. I stand by everything I’ve said about everyone else. You have to make weight. That is not an option. I’ll accept whatever sh*t is coming my way. It doesn’t change my perspective on anything.”
