“There is a number,” Former UFC title challenger wants to slap fight hated-rival Alex Pereira on ONE condition

Anthony Smith agreed to fight Alex Pereira in slap fighting, further extending their rivalry.

“There is a number,” Former UFC title challenger wants to slap fight hated-rival Alex Pereira on ONE condition

Anthony Smith agreed to fight Alex Pereira in slapfighting (via IMAGO/Wikipedia)

The unexpected beef between Anthony Smith and Alex Pereira is just getting increasingly heated up. Recently, Smith commented on whether he would partake in slapfighting. He said that he would if he got paid enough. He wanted the same money as he’s making in MMA. Further, when asked about slap fighting against Alex Pereira, he agreed.

Recently, Anthony Smith on the MMA Hour show said that he would slapfight Alex Pereira and started analyzing their chins. He said that his chin has held up better recently than Pereira’s. But, he also acknowledged that Pereira’s chin was better after moving up to light-heavyweight. Here is what he said when asked about contesting against ‘Poatan’ in slap-fighting:

Would I? Yeah! His chin has seemed to be...I don't know. Mine's held up better than his recently. At 205 it's held up alright though. He didn't take any big shots but it held up okay.
Anthony Smith (via MMA Hour)

Anthony Smith’s feud against Alex Pereira started when he criticized Pereira for the move to 205. He said that Pereira was not the same large, scary monster he was at middleweight. The former champion wasn’t pleased with this and posted a comical image on Instagram challenging Smith to a grappling match. Since then, they’ve been going at each other on social media.

‘Lion Heart’ won his last fight against Ryan Spann via split decision in August. Now, Anthony Smith is waiting for the UFC to book his next fight. On the other hand, Alex Pereira is facing Jiri Prochazka this weekend for the light-heavyweight championship in UFC 295.

The origin story of Anthony Smith’s beef against Alex Pereira. What happened since then?

The beef started when Anthony Smith commented on Alex Periera’s move up to light-heavyweight. He said that he wasn’t the same large, scary monster he was at middleweight. Pereira replied to it amusingly by inviting Smith to a grappling match.

To which Smith accepted and replied ‘Send Location’. But we know that it was a troll from Pereira as he’s not very much skilled in grappling.

Anthony Smith Alex Pereira
Anthony Smith and Alex Pereira (via Sherdog/UFC)

But Alex Pereira wasn’t done with it. Later, Pereira called Smith a ‘washed vet’ and went at him on his YouTube reaction video of Smith’s fight with Ryan Spann. According to Pereira, this hatred came as a result of Anthony Smith discrediting him right from his debut in the UFC. In an interview with Ariel Helwani in September, Pereira discussed it in detail. Here is what he said:

The issue is, man, he has his job with the UFC commentating. He’s got to do what he’s got to do, but we feel that since the beginning, he gives me no credit.
Alex Pereira (via MMA Hour)

Anthony Smith won his previous fight with Ryan Spann through a controversial split decision. Further, he is actively working with the UFC as an analyst. Alex Pereira, on his move up to 205lbs, won his fight against the former champion Jan Blochowicz. This earned him a spot to fight for the vacant light-heavyweight title. Now, he’s facing Jiri Prochazka in the title matchup in UFC 295.

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