Anthony Smith on surging UFC light heavyweight Magomed Ankalaev: “He’s not the boogeyman that everyone made him out to be”

UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith has given his thoughts on divisional rival and rising star Magomed Ankalaev.

Out of all divisions in the UFC, there’s an argument to be made that light heavyweight is the most unpredictable. From Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz winning the title to a host of new faces cropping up in the top 15, things have been pretty wild since Jon Jones vacated the belt and started his transition up to heavyweight.

One man who has been slowly but surely making his way up through the ranks is none other than Magomed Ankalaev.

His most recent win over Thiago Santos didn’t exactly blow fans away but it did reiterate that he’s someone to be feared, even if some aren’t convinced he’s the next big thing.

Anthony Smith, who has suggested a showdown between himself and Ankalaev makes sense, downplayed the hype behind his potential opponent during a recent interview.

“He’s not the boogeyman that everyone keeps talking about. I’ve been saying that for a long time. Is he good? One hundred percent! He’s solid, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, he doesn’t have any glaring holes in his game at all, but he’s not the boogeyman that everyone made him out to be. People have been saying, ‘Anthony’s ducking him.’ I’m not ducking that dude, come on. I’ve got 50 something fights. I’m not ducking anybody. I’m just not singing his praises because I’m not that impressed.”

Quotes via Sportskeeda

With Smith being on a three-fight win streak, you can see why he’s so eager to get back into the Octagon.

If the UFC decides to book Anthony Smith vs Magomed Ankalaev, who do you think would be the favourite to walk away with a win? Would you prefer to see “Lionheart” square off against Paul Craig?