Anthony Smith is plans to serve as an alternate for the light heavyweight title headliner at UFC 283.
Glover Teixeira will meet Jamahal Hill for the vacant 205-pound title on Jan. 21 in Rio de Janeiro. Hill was pulled from his originally scheduled matchup against Smith slated for March 11 for the title opportunity, which left Smith without an opponent.
Smith (36-17 MMA, 13-9 UFC) has decided to be a backup for the fight in case Teixeira (33-8 MMA, 16-6 UFC) or Hill (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) can’t make it to their matchup.
“I am. I’m going to fly to Brazil,” Smith said while working the ESPN desk this past weekend. “I’m going to weigh in at 205 pounds. I don’t suspect that these guys are gonna have problems, they’re both professionals, but if something does happen, I’ll be there to step in.”
Instead of being bitter about his situation, Smith has offered Hill a helping hand and will assist him in his training camp. Smith faced Teixeira in May 2020 when he had a strong start, but Teixeira was able to turn things around to batter and TKO “Lionheart” in Round 5.
Having gone almost five rounds with the former champion, Smith thinks he can provide Hill some valuable insight.
“It’s not that weird to me,” Smith said of helping Hill. “He called me the Sunday as soon as the fight was over. His manager asked me Saturday would I be willing to and then I didn’t actually think Jamahal was gonna ask, (but) he did. We’ve talked several times over the week. I don’t think it’s a secret where Glover has the biggest advantage here. It’s gonna be on the ground.
“Jamahal Hill is fantastic on his feet, he’s dangerous, huge power in his hands. I don’t suspect Glover is gonna be standing with him for very long. So I have a unique experience with Glover. I spent five rounds with him. I’m a high-level blackbelt in jiu-jitsu. I think that I do bring a lot of things to the table that can help Jamahal at least in that facet of the game.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 283.
