Anthony Smith has addressed why he missed weight as the backup fighter for the vacant light heavyweight title at UFC 283.
In the main event of the pay-per-view card in Brazil, Glover Teixeira was set to face Jamahal Hill – who was originally booked to face Smith. With Smith’s fights off, he was asked to be the backup fighter for the main event but missed weight so he would’ve been ineligible to win the belt had either Teixeira or Hill not been able to fight.
Now, days after the event, Smith addressed the weight miss and said this will be the only time it happens.
“It wasn’t for a lack of effort,” Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast (h/t MMAJunkie). “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 says he has no excuses for missing weight and will accept any heat he gets for missing 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.”
Anthony Smith does not have his next fight booked and has not fought since he suffered a TKO loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277. Prior to that, ‘Lionheart’ was on a three-fight winning streak with stoppage wins over Ryan Spann, Jimmy Crute, and Devin Clark.
What do you make of Anthony Smith addressing the weight miss?
