Anthony Smith thinks Stipe Miocic would fight Tom Aspinall at UFC 309 if needed: ‘He doesn’t really give a sh*t’ about Jon Jones
UFC light heavyweight Anthony Smith believes Stipe Miocic would fight Tom Aspinall if the interim champion is needed for UFC 309.
Miocic is scheduled to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. The bout will take place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 16th. The bout was initially booked for late 2023, but Jones suffered an injury.
In a situation where Jones has to be pulled again, “Lionheart” feels Miocic would take the fight with Aspinall.
Anthony Smith Says Stipe Miocic Would Fight Tom Aspinall
On a new edition of the “Believe You Me” podcast, Anthony Smith disagreed with those who don’t think Stipe Miocic would fight Tom Aspinall if “Bones” isn’t available (h/t MMAFighting).
“I think [Miocic] will,” Smith said. “Anytime I’ve ever had conversations about this kind of stuff with Stipe, I know that I think in this whole media world—not just [Michael Bisping] and I, but the media in the general and the UFC and everyone that talks about it—they make it seem like Stipe really gives a shit. He doesn’t really give a shit. He’s barely a fighter. Like, he doesn’t have the mentality of a fighter unless he’s in there actively fighting. He doesn’t talk about fights, he doesn’t really watch them that much, he trains every single day, but he’s just not immersed in this world at all. He wants to beat Jon because everyone else says that Jon is the best, he couldn’t care less about Jon Jones.”
Smith went on to say the opponent change wouldn’t throw Miocic off. He thinks the surefire future UFC Hall of Famer never prepares for a fight thinking about what his opponent is doing.
