Anthony Smith Says Fan Reaction To His Title Shot Has Turned From Hate to Hope

Anthony Smith has was surprised by the amount of hostile feedback he received when his light heavyweight title shot was announced, but he claims much of that negative energy has reversed itself.

Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight contender Smith was a recent guest on MMAFighting.com‘s “The MMA Hour” and said he was he was the target of a large number of toxic messages on social media after the announcement, but more and more of them seem to be hoping he can pull off the huge upset and beat “Bones” when they meet next month:

“When it first happened, it was a little bit shocking when I first started,” Smith said. “But honestly, at this point I’ve kinda gotten used to it, and as the fight gets closer and closer, I do see that it’s changing a little bit. I don’t see as many ‘Jon Jones is going to beat your ass, you p---y’ comments as much anymore. I see a lot of guys hoping. I don’t see a whole lot of believers, but I see a lot of people that really, really hope. Overall, as a broad spectrum, that’s kinda how it’s been and I understand it and I’m looking forward to winning and changing everybody’s minds, that’s for sure.”

UFC 235 is scheduled to be headlined by the light heavyweight title fight between Jones and Smith. It will also feature a welterweight title clash between champion Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman, who brings with him a 13-fight win streak, the last nine of those in the UFC.