Jon Jones’ former opponent Anthony Smith believes the champion “looked lost” during his UFC 247 performance against Dominick Reyes.
On Saturday, February 8 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, the light heavyweight champ successfully defended his belt for a record-breaking fourteenth time. However, his opponent Dominick Reyes put up a worthy fight, leaving many spectators believing he should have won.
Anthony Smith is one of many on the Dominick Reyes side of the fence. During an episode of the UFC Unfiltered podcast, Smith shared his belief that “The Devastator” should have won.
“He looked lost, he looked flustered, he looked worried in between rounds,” he said to hosts Matt Serra and Jim Norton. “I had it 3-2 Reyes. I had Reyes winning the first three rounds and Jon winning the last two.
“That’s how I had it, I went back and rewatched it last night, when I got home. I still feel the same way. I thought that rounds 1 to 3 were pretty clear for Reyes. I don’t want to say that they were dominant, I don’t think he was running over Jon, but I think it was pretty easy to see that he was ahead.”
Smith still commends Jones’ grit and resilience.
Reflecting on Jones’ UFC 247 performance caused “Lionheart” to reflect on his own fight against the champion which took place at UFC 235 in 2019. He lost via unanimous decision and acknowledges that he wasn’t active enough and mistakes were made.
Anthony Smith will return to the Octagon on April 25 against Glover Teixeira. A victory against the Brazilian could inch him closer to a title shot. Meanwhile, Jones has a few possible options. He could face the winner of Corey Anderson vs Jan Blachowicz. A potential Dominick Reyes rematch could certainly be on the cards too.
What do you think of these comments from Anthony Smith?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/12/2020.