ANTHONY SMITH BELIEVES THAT HE CAN 100% DEFEAT JON JONES

Although he faces a tough test in Volkan Oezdemir this weekend at UFC Moncton, Anthony Smith feels “100 percent” confident he can defeat former champion Jon Jones.

In a recent interview he said,  “It is really bizarre what’s going on with the division right now, but I think that it’s starting to clear up. Regardless of how you feel about Jon Jones and all the stuff that’s going on with him, the division is moving again.

“The title’s back in rotation and we’re starting to move around a little now, which is a good thing, regardless of how anybody feels about Jon. And I’ll never talk about Jon’s personal life — I will absolutely talk about his steroid use, but as far as his personal life, it is what it is. That’s on him.”

Jones, who will fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 on December 29th, had his USADA suspension reduced by 30-months for providing “substantial assistance” to the anti-doping agency. This is a decision that Smith describes as ‘bullsh-t’, however at the same time he is happy that ‘Bones’ is back.

“I think it’s absolute bullsh-t. But what do you do about it?” Smith said of Jones. “What do we do about it? Nothing. The competitor in me is happy that he’s back, because I 100 percent mean this and I feel it in my soul: I can beat Jon Jones. I have the ability, I have the skill, and I’m probably the only legitimate threat to him right now. And I mean that.

“That’s not just a sound bite — I 100 percent believe that I can beat Jon Jones. With him getting a long suspension, that kinda looks a little bit different and there’s always going to be those questions. Say I beat Volkan and then I get a title shot against Alexander Gustafsson and I beat him, you’re always going to get the Jon Jones question. I don’t want any questions.”