Shortly after a decision loss to Aleksandar
Rakic in the UFC Fight Night 175 main event — his second
straight lopsided defeat in the Octagon — last August, Anthony
Smith was
contemplating a return to 185 pounds.
Since then, “Lionheart” has rattled off three consecutive light
heavyweight triumphs to re-establish his place in the division. The
most recent of those came on Saturday night in a quick submission
triumph over Ryan Spann in
the UFC Fight Night 192 headliner, after which Smith called for a
rematch with Rakic.
“That’s what I wanted. That’s what I asked for,” Smith said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “That’s the fight I’ve been
talking about. It’s nothing personal. Me and Rakic have had nothing
but positive exchanges with each other both before and after the
fight. It’s purely competitive. I want his spot. He took mine, I
want to take it back.”
Shortly after Smith’s callout, Rakic seemingly accepted, tagging
UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard in a Twitter post while writing, “I’m
free in December.”
I’m free in December @Mickmaynard2
— Aleksandar Rakic (@rakic_ufc)
September 19, 2021
According to Smith, the loss came while he was in a bad mental
space following a fifth-round TKO loss at the hands of Glover
Teixeira in May 2020. With wins over Spann, Jimmy Crute
and Devin Clark
under his belt, the former 205-pound title challenger believes he
is in a better place to avenge that loss to Rakic. He also says
that Rakic is the most difficult matchup for him among the top
light heavyweight contenders.
“No disrespect – I think Dominick
Reyes is an easier fight, but that doesn’t get me closer to the
title,” Smith said. “I need what’s going to get me closest to the
title fight. I could hang around and wait for the loser of the
title fight, but I don’t want to wait. I think for me stylistically
– not saying for everyone – but for me, Rakic is probably the
toughest fight out of those [top] five guys.”