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Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes he’s identified a good option for Anthony Smith following his loss of a fight against Jamahal Hill.
When he arrived at the T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday to complete analyst duties at the ESPN desk for UFC 282, it’s safe to say that Smith likely wasn’t expecting proceedings to affect him quite so much.
In the main event, Jan B?achowicz and Magomed Ankalaev collided for a title that “Lionheart” was no doubt hoping to secure his own shot at in his then-scheduled bout with Hill next March. But when the pay-per-view headliner concluded in a draw, some news that was eyebrow-raising for most but heart-dropping for Smith emerged.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that “Sweet Dreams” had been pulled from his planned clash with Smith and placed in a championship main event against Glover Teixeira next month at UFC 283.
Upon hearing the developments during ESPN’s post-fight show, Smith was clearly taken aback as he processed his opportunity to rise closer to the gold being taken away.
But while the #6-ranked contender is probably still feeling disappointed at how things have played out, he’s been reminded that there is still one way he can keep himself close to both Hill and the title…
Sonnen: Smith Should Follow Hill To Brazil
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen discussed the man who was left out in the cold by this past weekend’s events.
According to Sonnen, it shouldn’t just be Hill who makes the trip to Rio de Janeiro next month. That’s because “The American Gangster” believes Smith should be placed in the backup position for the UFC 283 headliner.
“So, Anthony gets the opportunity taken away, what does he get? What does he do? Now, I have a very biased opinion, which I will disclose to you upfront, but I’d like him to be the backup fighter,” Sonnen said. “That’s a grandiose position for a guy that’s coming off a loss, but I don’t agree with that. I’ve never agreed with that… I’ve watched LeBron James lose on a Tuesday and be crowned world champion on a Friday.”
Sonnen went on to preemptively dismiss any notion that Smith doesn’t deserve or isn’t good enough to serve as the alternate for the title fight, citing the fact that he was originally scheduled to face one side of the pairing just two months later as evidence.
“‘Lionheart’ gets in there with Ankalaev, who according to Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, should be the world champion right now,” Sonnen noted. “Breaks his leg, bounces back, is gonna get in there with Jamahal. I don’t think (that) because of the outcome of his last fight, that he would be disqualified from being in a backup position for that match.
“And you can’t tell me that he’s not good enough to do it. He was just going to fight Jamahal, and now Jamahal is doing it (fighting for the title). You can’t tell me he’s not in that mix,” Sonnen added. “I would like to see that happen. I feel like it was a real opportunity lost (for Smith). It was no fault of his.”
As it so happens, soon after Sonnen made the above remarks, Anthony Smith revealed on a Wednesday appearance on The MMA Hour that he will, in fact, be the official backup for Teixeira/Hill.
“Lionheart” faced the former champion back in May 2020 at UFC Fight Night 171, where he was battered en route to a TKO loss in the fifth round. Given the brutal nature of the defeat and Smith’s subsequent rebound, there’d certainly be a redemption arc angle for Smith to attain if his backup role is activated at UFC 283 against Teixeira.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen believes he’s identified a good option for Anthony Smith following his loss of a fight against Jamahal Hill.
When he arrived at the T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday to complete analyst duties at the ESPN desk for UFC 282, it’s safe to say that Smith likely wasn’t expecting proceedings to affect him quite so much.
In the main event, Jan B?achowicz and Magomed Ankalaev collided for a title that “Lionheart” was no doubt hoping to secure his own shot at in his then-scheduled bout with Hill next March. But when the pay-per-view headliner concluded in a draw, some news that was eyebrow-raising for most but heart-dropping for Smith emerged.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that “Sweet Dreams” had been pulled from his planned clash with Smith and placed in a championship main event against Glover Teixeira next month at UFC 283.
Upon hearing the developments during ESPN’s post-fight show, Smith was clearly taken aback as he processed his opportunity to rise closer to the gold being taken away.
But while the #6-ranked contender is probably still feeling disappointed at how things have played out, he’s been reminded that there is still one way he can keep himself close to both Hill and the title…
Sonnen: Smith Should Follow Hill To Brazil
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen discussed the man who was left out in the cold by this past weekend’s events.
According to Sonnen, it shouldn’t just be Hill who makes the trip to Rio de Janeiro next month. That’s because “The American Gangster” believes Smith should be placed in the backup position for the UFC 283 headliner.
“So, Anthony gets the opportunity taken away, what does he get? What does he do? Now, I have a very biased opinion, which I will disclose to you upfront, but I’d like him to be the backup fighter,” Sonnen said. “That’s a grandiose position for a guy that’s coming off a loss, but I don’t agree with that. I’ve never agreed with that… I’ve watched LeBron James lose on a Tuesday and be crowned world champion on a Friday.”
Sonnen went on to preemptively dismiss any notion that Smith doesn’t deserve or isn’t good enough to serve as the alternate for the title fight, citing the fact that he was originally scheduled to face one side of the pairing just two months later as evidence.
“‘Lionheart’ gets in there with Ankalaev, who according to Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, should be the world champion right now,” Sonnen noted. “Breaks his leg, bounces back, is gonna get in there with Jamahal. I don’t think (that) because of the outcome of his last fight, that he would be disqualified from being in a backup position for that match.
“And you can’t tell me that he’s not good enough to do it. He was just going to fight Jamahal, and now Jamahal is doing it (fighting for the title). You can’t tell me he’s not in that mix,” Sonnen added. “I would like to see that happen. I feel like it was a real opportunity lost (for Smith). It was no fault of his.”
As it so happens, soon after Sonnen made the above remarks, Anthony Smith revealed on a Wednesday appearance on The MMA Hour that he will, in fact, be the official backup for Teixeira/Hill.
“Lionheart” faced the former champion back in May 2020 at UFC Fight Night 171, where he was battered en route to a TKO loss in the fifth round. Given the brutal nature of the defeat and Smith’s subsequent rebound, there’d certainly be a redemption arc angle for Smith to attain if his backup role is activated at UFC 283 against Teixeira.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
When he arrived at the T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday to complete analyst duties at the ESPN desk for UFC 282, it’s safe to say that Smith likely wasn’t expecting proceedings to affect him quite so much.
In the main event, Jan B?achowicz and Magomed Ankalaev collided for a title that “Lionheart” was no doubt hoping to secure his own shot at in his then-scheduled bout with Hill next March. But when the pay-per-view headliner concluded in a draw, some news that was eyebrow-raising for most but heart-dropping for Smith emerged.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that “Sweet Dreams” had been pulled from his planned clash with Smith and placed in a championship main event against Glover Teixeira next month at UFC 283.
Upon hearing the developments during ESPN’s post-fight show, Smith was clearly taken aback as he processed his opportunity to rise closer to the gold being taken away.
But while the #6-ranked contender is probably still feeling disappointed at how things have played out, he’s been reminded that there is still one way he can keep himself close to both Hill and the title…
Sonnen: Smith Should Follow Hill To Brazil
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen discussed the man who was left out in the cold by this past weekend’s events.
According to Sonnen, it shouldn’t just be Hill who makes the trip to Rio de Janeiro next month. That’s because “The American Gangster” believes Smith should be placed in the backup position for the UFC 283 headliner.
“So, Anthony gets the opportunity taken away, what does he get? What does he do? Now, I have a very biased opinion, which I will disclose to you upfront, but I’d like him to be the backup fighter,” Sonnen said. “That’s a grandiose position for a guy that’s coming off a loss, but I don’t agree with that. I’ve never agreed with that… I’ve watched LeBron James lose on a Tuesday and be crowned world champion on a Friday.”
Sonnen went on to preemptively dismiss any notion that Smith doesn’t deserve or isn’t good enough to serve as the alternate for the title fight, citing the fact that he was originally scheduled to face one side of the pairing just two months later as evidence.
“‘Lionheart’ gets in there with Ankalaev, who according to Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, should be the world champion right now,” Sonnen noted. “Breaks his leg, bounces back, is gonna get in there with Jamahal. I don’t think (that) because of the outcome of his last fight, that he would be disqualified from being in a backup position for that match.
“And you can’t tell me that he’s not good enough to do it. He was just going to fight Jamahal, and now Jamahal is doing it (fighting for the title). You can’t tell me he’s not in that mix,” Sonnen added. “I would like to see that happen. I feel like it was a real opportunity lost (for Smith). It was no fault of his.”
As it so happens, soon after Sonnen made the above remarks, Anthony Smith revealed on a Wednesday appearance on The MMA Hour that he will, in fact, be the official backup for Teixeira/Hill.
“Lionheart” faced the former champion back in May 2020 at UFC Fight Night 171, where he was battered en route to a TKO loss in the fifth round. Given the brutal nature of the defeat and Smith’s subsequent rebound, there’d certainly be a redemption arc angle for Smith to attain if his backup role is activated at UFC 283 against Teixeira.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
When he arrived at the T-Mobile Arena this past Saturday to complete analyst duties at the ESPN desk for UFC 282, it’s safe to say that Smith likely wasn’t expecting proceedings to affect him quite so much.
In the main event, Jan B?achowicz and Magomed Ankalaev collided for a title that “Lionheart” was no doubt hoping to secure his own shot at in his then-scheduled bout with Hill next March. But when the pay-per-view headliner concluded in a draw, some news that was eyebrow-raising for most but heart-dropping for Smith emerged.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White announced that “Sweet Dreams” had been pulled from his planned clash with Smith and placed in a championship main event against Glover Teixeira next month at UFC 283.
Upon hearing the developments during ESPN’s post-fight show, Smith was clearly taken aback as he processed his opportunity to rise closer to the gold being taken away.
But while the #6-ranked contender is probably still feeling disappointed at how things have played out, he’s been reminded that there is still one way he can keep himself close to both Hill and the title…
Sonnen: Smith Should Follow Hill To Brazil
During a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen discussed the man who was left out in the cold by this past weekend’s events.
According to Sonnen, it shouldn’t just be Hill who makes the trip to Rio de Janeiro next month. That’s because “The American Gangster” believes Smith should be placed in the backup position for the UFC 283 headliner.
“So, Anthony gets the opportunity taken away, what does he get? What does he do? Now, I have a very biased opinion, which I will disclose to you upfront, but I’d like him to be the backup fighter,” Sonnen said. “That’s a grandiose position for a guy that’s coming off a loss, but I don’t agree with that. I’ve never agreed with that… I’ve watched LeBron James lose on a Tuesday and be crowned world champion on a Friday.”
Sonnen went on to preemptively dismiss any notion that Smith doesn’t deserve or isn’t good enough to serve as the alternate for the title fight, citing the fact that he was originally scheduled to face one side of the pairing just two months later as evidence.
“‘Lionheart’ gets in there with Ankalaev, who according to Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier, should be the world champion right now,” Sonnen noted. “Breaks his leg, bounces back, is gonna get in there with Jamahal. I don’t think (that) because of the outcome of his last fight, that he would be disqualified from being in a backup position for that match.
“And you can’t tell me that he’s not good enough to do it. He was just going to fight Jamahal, and now Jamahal is doing it (fighting for the title). You can’t tell me he’s not in that mix,” Sonnen added. “I would like to see that happen. I feel like it was a real opportunity lost (for Smith). It was no fault of his.”
As it so happens, soon after Sonnen made the above remarks, Anthony Smith revealed on a Wednesday appearance on The MMA Hour that he will, in fact, be the official backup for Teixeira/Hill.
“Lionheart” faced the former champion back in May 2020 at UFC Fight Night 171, where he was battered en route to a TKO loss in the fifth round. Given the brutal nature of the defeat and Smith’s subsequent rebound, there’d certainly be a redemption arc angle for Smith to attain if his backup role is activated at UFC 283 against Teixeira.
Please provide transcription credit with a link to this article if you use any of these quotes.
Click here to view the article.
