Anthony Smith is tired of Johnny Walker calling him out.
This past weekend, the UFC veteran made his return to the octagon and got an impressive first-round TKO win over Ryan Spann. The No. 10 ranked light heavyweight was then questioned on what the future holds for him and Walker stated that he was interested in fighting Anthony Smith next:
“Maybe Anthony Smith, or anyone who is above me in the ranking,” Walker said to Combate. “I don’t like to fight with a Brazilian, but if I have to fight, we fight.”
While the callout was a respectful one compared to other fighters, Anthony Smith isn’t happy that the Brazilian issued out the challenge. Speaking on Sirius XM, the former light heavyweight title contender expressed his unhappiness over Walker’s statement and feels that he can beat the s**t out of the fellow light heavyweight (Transcript courtesy of MMA Junkie):
“For whatever reason he wants to fight me, that’s like the third or fourth time he calls me out,” Smith said speaking to Sirius XM. “I’m just like, ‘Shut up, dude. I’ll beat the (explicit) out of you.’
“Maybe I’ve lost two in a row, but I lost to two of the baddest (expletive) on the planet, you know what I mean. It’s different, there’s levels to this (expletive). I’ll fight Johnny Walker if that’s what the UFC calls for, but I’m not going to go out there and call out Johny Walker, that’s for sure.”
Smith actually respects what Walker can do inside of the octagon; however, the 32-year-old doesn’t believe that there’s any benefit in fighting the Brazilian:
“He’s exciting, he’s powerful, he’s an athlete, he’s got a perfect frame for the weight class – his build is perfect – and he’s exciting,” Smith said. “He’s little strange, but he’s always been respectful in person, and he’s just not that guy.
“I don’t know what it does to me. But again, I don’t turn down fights, so if the UFC calls and offers Johnny Walker, that’s the fight I’d take. I’ll be surprised if the UFC called with Johnny Walker, but I’ll take it. It’s just not what I’m chasing, for sure.
“This is what my thing has always been about Johnny Walker: You can do the jumping (expletive), the spinning (expletive), and the flashy (expletive) that he has in his fights, but what we haven’t seen is Johnny Walker’s ability to be fundamental anywhere. He’s not throwing straight one-two. He’s not throwing one-two and rolling under the hook that’s coming his way. He’s not grabbing and snatching singles and passing the guard on the way down. He seems to lack a lot of those fundamentals, and he makes up a lot of that stuff with his athleticism, power and explosiveness. That (expletive) is going to run out at some point.”
Smith feels confident that he’ll beat the veteran in a fight and details his strategy if the two ever met inside of the octagon:
“Johnny Walker is that kind of guy I feel like you just grab a hold of him and do what you want,” Smith said. “I’m not saying it be that easy, he’s a tough guy no matter what. He’s in the UFC for a reason, he’s in the top 15 for a reason, but those are the kind of guys that I shine against. You just walk them down, force them to be fundamental, and not give them the room to be crazy.”