Anthony Smith will face a stark test when he battles Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Stockholm this weekend. He’s approaching this task with a simple yet violent gameplan.
“I’m going to march across the cage, I’m going to put pressure on him, he’s going to run from me for 25 minutes if I let him,” Smith said ahead of this fight (via MMA News). “I’m going to swing hammers the whole time. If he gets too close, I’m going to drag him to the ground and if he gets away, I’ll do it again. That’s it. That’s the game plan. I’ll react to all the other s—t.”
“As far as a black and white game plan, that’s it,” Smith added. “March across the Octagon, put pressure on him and swing hammers. That’s it.”
While Anthony Smith intends to battle Alexander Gustafsson in this way, he recognizes that this likely isn’t a sustainable gameplan long-term.
“I think just letting me go in and fight off my instincts and doing what I feel is right at the time, is the best formula,” he explained. “We’ve just got to figure out how we do that long term. You can’t do that your whole career. You can’t not give a s—t your whole career. It’s easy to not give a s—t when no one else cares.
And in case you were worried Anthony Smith is fighting too soon after his recent loss to Jon Jones, here’s some reassurance from the man himself:
“If you look at my record and see any time I’ve lost, I fight almost immediately afterwards,” he said. “Cause I have to shake it, I have to get rid of it. I always come back better,” Smith said. “I’m hungrier and I’m angry and when I don’t give a f—k, that’s when I’m most dangerous. I don’t care. I’m going to go in there, I’m going to do what I do and whatever happens is going to happen.
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 5/30/2019.