Anthony Smith: ‘I know I can beat Jon Jones’ in a rematch

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Anthony Smith is supremely confident he beats Jon Jones in a rematch.

Anthony Smith was beaten soundly by reigning UFC light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound No. 1 Jon Jones at UFC 235, but ‘Bones’ has hardly looked impressive in follow-up fights against Thiago Santos and Dominick Reyes.

Smith, on the other hand, rebounded from the Jones loss with a submission win over former light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 153 and ‘Lionheart’ couldn’t be any more confident about his chances against Jones in a rematch.

Speaking of his upcoming light heavyweight bout with Glover Teixeira at UFC Lincoln, which is likely to be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19, Smith believes a win ought to set him up for a rematch with the current champ.

“This might be the last chance to fight in my home state,” Smith said in a recent interview with ESPN (h/t Jordan Ellis of Low Kick MMA). “If things go the way I see them going for me, I think I’ll have a dominant performance over Glover. I think I’ll get him out of there quickly, and then we are looking for big fights, and we are looking at pay-per-views, and we are looking at potential title shots soon. Those types of things don’t happen in Nebraska.”

“I’m thinking in the future, like I know I can beat Jon Jones. When I beat Jon Jones, what are the chances we are ever coming back to Nebraska? Unlikely,” he continued. “Those fights are going to be in Vegas and be in big places. And, as bad as it is to say, Nebraska is not a hotbed for MMA. So, knowing that sucks, that if it doesn’t happen now, it may never happen, and that is really tough.”

UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira is scheduled to take place next month, April 25 at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Don’t get your hopes up too much, though.