Anthony Smith: Jon Jones is ‘definitely beatable’ at light heavyweight

Daniel Cormier recently claimed that Jon Jones, who has ruled over the light heavyweight division for years, is unbeatable in his native weight class. By Cormier’s estimation, Jones will only be toppled at heavyweight. Anthony Smith, who lost a decision to Jones in early 2019, disagrees.

https://twitter.com/MMAonSiriusXM/status/1222339987678617602

“I think a heavyweight would have a much easier time,” Smith said on Sirius XM’s Fight Nation (via MMA Junkie). “I like Daniel, I work with Daniel, I disagree with Daniel. Like. I hear him talk about Jon Jones like that all the time; I didn’t see that. Like, I didn’t feel like that when I was in there with Jon Jones. Obviously I had my own issues … but I don’t feel like that. I didn’t feel like I was in there with a dude that was unbeatable, and when I hear ‘DC’ talk sometimes, I get the feeling as if he’s talking about someone who’s unbeatable.”

Smith continued, sharing his belief that Cormier of all people should recognize that Jones can be beaten. He reminds that Cormier was performing well in his second fight with Jones until he got clipped with a head kick.

“Especially a man who was winning the second fight and just got clipped and put down,” Smith said of Cormier. “I think all judges had ‘DC’ up. He was winning every minute of every round up to the point he got kicked, so I always feel really uncomfortable when I hear ‘DC’ talk like that. One, because I don’t see that when I seen him fight him the second time. I seen a guy that was definitely beatable, and I didn’t feel like that when I was in there with Jon Jones.”

While Smith believes Jones can be beaten at 205, he does acknowledge the champion will be much more beatable at heavyweight.

“Would some more size absolutely help? For sure. If I was bigger and a couple inches taller and had a few more inches of reach on me, absolutely that’s easier to do for sure. Also, if you’re a heavyweight and a big power striker, maybe you can get away with putting Jon Jones out without having to be better than him for an entire fight. That’s how I look at it.”

Are you with Anthony Smith on this? Can Jon Jones be beaten at 205 pounds?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/30/2020.