Anthony Smith gives his side of ‘misunderstanding’ with Rampage Jackson: “I didn’t think he would be upset”

UFC light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith has given his side of the beef with Rampage Jackson.

‘Lionheart’ made headlines earlier this week by voicing frustrations with the former UFC champion’s podcast. Speaking on his own podcast, Anthony Smith took issue with Rampage Jackson’s habit of making fun of fighters behind their back, while being nice to their face. That led to a lengthy rant from the 46-year-old, who threatened to slap Smith next time he sees him.

“I saw this f*cking post Anthony Smith did.” Rampage Jackson stated in the video. “I saw it this morning, and it f*cking pissed me off. When T.J. sat right motherf*cking here and said you’ll never be a champion and said that you f*cking gave up, Bear and I f*cking had your back. That’s why we were saying ‘Lionheart’… You took it as Bear and I were making fun of you. Bear and I actually liked your b*tch a*s.”

The comments really took ‘Lionheart’ by surprise. Speaking in a recent interview with Submission Radio, Anthony Smith discussed the situation at length. There, the UFC light-heavyweight contender called the whole thing a misunderstanding, adding that he didn’t want any beef with Rampage Jackson.

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UFC light-heavyweight contender Anthony Smith responds to Rampage Jackson

While Anthony Smith figured Jackson’s friends would be frustrated at his comments, he didn’t expect the former UFC champion to be mad. After seeing the 46-year-old’s heated comments, ‘Lionheart’ reached out and squashed things with him. Smith grew up idolizing the PRIDE legend, and he definitely doesn’t want to fight him.

“I still love Rampage even though he said he’s going to slap the s*it out of me.” Anthony Smith stated to Submission Radio. “I was shocked, I knew that there was a chance that [T.J.] Dillashaw was going to be pissed. Which, I didn’t care about. I knew Bear was going to be pissed, probably. But I didn’t think for a second Rampage would be upset… So, I was shocked about Rampage’s anger. I actually reached out to him through a DM and so him and I have been actually going back-and-forth a little bit today.”

He continued, “…I think Rampage and I, in this situation, had a little bit of a misunderstanding. I thought he was mad about the Bryce Mitchell stuff… I was very purposeful with my words when it came to talking about Rampage. Some of that’s just because I respect him. But also because I don’t think he was the one totally in the wrong there.”

What do you make of these comments from Rampage Jackson and Anthony Smith? Who do you want to see ‘Lionheart’ face in his final UFC fight later this year?