Anthony Smith fires back at Alex Pereira: 'If you want a f*cking rival, you've got one right here'

Anthony Smith is perplexed by Alex Pereira coming at him so harshly, but is ready to engage in a feud if that’s what the former UFC champ craves.

After Smith (37-18 MMA, 12-8 UFC) offered an even-keeled analysis of Pereira’s (8-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) split decision win over Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 in July in what was the former middleweight titleholder’s debut in the light heavyweight division, the Brazilian came back in a much hostile manner.

Pereira trashed Smith after “Lionheart” eked out a split decision over Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 225 this past Saturday, calling him “washed up” and declaring that he “never amount to anything” in his career.

That threw Smith off guard, because he insists his initial comments were never meant to be disrespectful.

“I’ll be honest: I texted Glover (Teixeira) yesterday and said, ‘What in the f*ck is this?'” Smith said on his SiriusXM radio show. “I’m trying to figure out which direction I’m supposed to go here. Did he take something out of context? Is he reading headlines, or did he actually listen to what I said? Because what I said was that, essentially, he’s the same size as everyone else. You think if I said Islam (Makhachev) is the same size as every lightweight, he’s going to come at me pissed off about it? No.

“My whole point was that he moved up to 205 so he’s not going to enjoy the same size advantage that he did at 185. That’s it. Is that crazy? Am I wrong? The whole question was, ‘You’re a guy that moved up from 185 to 205. What are some of the things that you experienced that Alex may be experiencing, and what do you see as the differences?’ I said, ‘The difference is he’s not the largest guy in the division.’ He went from being the largest middleweight on planet earth, to being a normal-sized 205er. Then I went on to say, ‘What makes him special’ – I used the word ‘special’ – that he’s a special talent when it comes to being a striker and that the division is more interesting with him in it.”

For Smith, it appears he’s not particularly keen on mending fences with Pereira. In fact, given their positions at top-10 fighters in the light heavyweight division, a fight between them at some point is more likely than anything.

Pereira is seemingly on the cusp of booking a fight with Jiri Prochazka for the vacant 205-pound title, so he has more pressing business to handle. However, if he wants to continue talking about Smith with the tone of his recent comments, Smith said there’s only one way it ends.

“I said a bunch of nice sh*t about you, and you’re going to talk sh*t? I don’t think so,” Smith said. “That’s not how this works. Then we’re just going to shake hands when we see each other because you’re doing this media thing because you’re looking for a rival? If you want a f*cking rival, you’ve got one right here. I didn’t do sh*t to you. I’ve been nothing but complimentary of him and his whole team and a lot of his training partners. I don’t know what I did to that guy.”