Anthony Smith discusses his loss to Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277: “He wasn’t as good as I expected him to be”

Anthony Smith suffered a critical loss at the hands of Magomed Ankalaev at UFC 277 on July 30. The former light heavyweight title challenger also endured a brutal injury in the form of a broken ankle.

Smith, who burst on to the scene in 2018, has fought some of the best fighters in the sport. Names like Glover Texiera, Jon Jones, and Rashad Evans quickly come to mind as three of the best fighters that the division has ever seen.

However, “Lionheart” was not thrilled with the way Ankalaev performed against him, making his presence felt post-fight during a “Believe You Me” podcast appearance.

“I stand behind everything I said. I was as good as I’ve ever been,” Anthony Smith said. “I felt like the fight was going well. Nothing he did surprised me. I think I expected him to be better. He wasn’t as good as I expected him to be. He wasn’t as big as I expected him to be either… The whole time (in the first round) I was like, ‘This is so f*cking easy.’

Smith went on to elaborate further about what went wrong in the loss, as he fell to 36-17.

“I don’t wanna take anything from him… but it’s not like he did anything to me… He’s good, man, he’s good. But that fight didn’t prove anything I said before wrong. He’s not that f*cking guy, like I said he wasn’t,” Smith added. “He’s not the boogeyman in the division.”

Quotes were provided from MMA News.

Ankalaev currently sits at 18-1 as a professional and has defeated the likes of Ion Cutelaba (x2), Thiago Santos, and Nikita Krylov on his road to the top of the division. Having won his last nine in a row, the Russian phenom is well on his way to a title shot. But for Smith, however, it’s back to the drawing board.

Will Ankalaev get a title shot soon and is Smith due for another top-10 opponent? Share your thoughts in the comments, PENN Nation!