Anthony Smith has revealed that the UFC offered him a fight against the former light heavyweight champion just hours after the conclusion of UFC 267.
Jan Blachowicz met Glover Teixeira last weekend and the 42-year-old Brazilian walked away with his hand raised. The fight lasted two rounds and took place in Abu Dhabi on Fight Island. After defending his title against Israel Adesanya, Blachowicz would lose gold in his next showing.
It appeared that the former champion struggled to get his striking going as the fight began. In the aftermath, with a new champion in Teixeira, the #4-ranked Anthony Smith insists the UFC is already looking to book him against Blachowicz.
Congrats @gloverteixeira. Absolutely amazing, my man.
— Anthony Smith (@lionheartasmith) October 30, 2021
According to Smith on The MMA Hour, the former title challenger has a minor staph infection and will need time to recover, so his targeted rematch in Dec. with Alexander Rakic will have to wait. While speaking with Ariel Helwani, Smith explained that the promotion offered him the fight with Blachowicz just hours after Glover Teixeira secured the 205-pound strap.
“Sounds like we got someone else. I’m kind of liking this Jan Blachowicz fight. They brought it to me that night. He wants to fight again, he wants to fight soon,” Anthony Smith said to Helwani. “I’m not crazy injured, I’m just dealing with little stuff and an infection. As long as we can get the infection cleared, I don’t think February is out of the question.” h/t BJPenn.com
Smith admits that he would prefer a fight with Rakic, but believes the 29-year-old contender will not be ready to fight when the stars align. While “Lionheart” is on the mend right now, the former title challenger is confident that he and Rakic will finally meet and is hopeful for a Feb. fight date. Since Smith believes the Austrian native will not want to wait until Feb., the fight between Jan Blachowicz is increasingly becoming the more attractive option for Smith.
“Yeah, for sure, I love that fight, and I like that guy. I want the Rakic fight, I want that back but I don’t think he wants to wait so if he wants to go in and fight someone else that is fine. I like the Jan Blachowicz fight,” Smith said.
Following the loss of his title over the weekend at UFC 267, Blachowicz is healing up but has issued his first statement since the submission defeat to Teixeira. It appears Blachowicz would like to have a quick turnaround, so if any fight news develops, AllAccess MMA will keep you on the pulse!
