After accepting a late-notice fight against Carlos Ulberg at UFC 303 on June 29, Anthony Smith believes the promotion could be attempting to set up a potential title fight between himself and Alex Pereira.
Anthony Smith pulled off an upset win in his last outing, handing Vitor Petrino his first professional loss at UFC 301 this past May after submitting him in the first round.
The former light heavyweight title challenger then accepted a late-notice fight against Carlos Ulberg for UFC 303 after former champion, Jamahal Hill, withdrew from the bout because of a knee injury.
Ulberg is riding a six-fight win streak with his last win coming against Alonzo Menifield just one month ago.
Anthony Smith believes the UFC is setting up Pereira’s next fight
Following Conor McGregor‘s withdrawal from the June 29 main event, the promotion announced that light heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, will defend his title in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka, on just two weeks’ notice.
‘Lionheart’ believes the UFC could potentially be trying to set up ‘Poatan’s’ next title fight, with himself and Pereira already having a feud with each other.
The feud between the 205lbers sparked all the way back at UFC 291 when Smith was critical of the Brazilian’s performance over Jan Blachowicz. After the two traded several blows online and Smith claimed he could choke ‘Poatan’ out, Pereira offered the 35-year-old $50,000 to grapple him to finally settle their differences.
Despite that, the two didn’t end up meeting outside of the cage, and Smith believes the UFC could be setting up a potential title fight between the two with them already having history.
“It’s not lost on me the promotional situation that we’re being put into,” Smith told Submission Radio.
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“There’s some stuff behind the scenes that are happening that I understand why they’re doing it. Every UFC event is the set up for whatever the next matchups are for the next people, so I know what I’m getting myself into,” the 35-year-old added.
Anthony Smith wants to have some fun at the UFC 303 press conference
Smith and Pereira will likely both be on stage for the UFC 303 press conference, which usually takes place on the Thursday before the event.
The Nebraskan has claimed that Pereira has been intentionally poking at him to try and set up a fight, and believes that the champion will continue to do so at the UFC 303 press conference.
“I anticipate that he’s going to continue to do what he always does and take shots at me and poke at me, if you poke at me long enough you’re going to get what you want and it’s been fun for me because I like him, honestly.
“He’s a businessman and he understands the promotional gain in this sport and if we’re being honest other than Jiri (Prochazka) who else is a new matchup that draws (attention)? There isn’t anybody else,” Smith added.
Of course, both Smith and Pereira must get through their UFC 303 opponents Carlos Ulberg and Jiri Prochazka first, before they can consider a fight against each other. Smith predicts that the Brazilian will retain his title by finishing ‘The Czech Samurai’, despite the short notice.
“I think Alex wins, I really do. It being short notice doesn’t hurt either one of these guys in my opinion. Do we really think even with a full training camp they’re going to go five (rounds)? I think that’s unlikely,” the 35-year-old predicted.
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