Jon Jones will be making his first light heavyweight title defense of his second reign at UFC 235 against Anthony Smith. Following an exhaustive Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) hearing earlier this week, Jon Jones was granted a one-fight license to compete at the event, provided he subject himself to additional drug testing from the NSAC. After the hearing, the UFC made it official, and Anthony Smith will now receive his first UFC title fight on March 2nd.
In an interview following the UFC 235 press conference, Anthony Smith revealed that whether or not Jon Jones is a doper is of no significance to Smith’s state of mind nor would it have made a difference in the career of Jon Jones.
“To be honest with you, I don’t care,” Smith told MMA Fighting. “It doesn’t matter to me. Number one, I was fighting for years before USADA was there. I’ve been fighting people on steroids my whole career. So it just genuinely doesn’t matter.
“And I think with it, without it, Jon Jones is one of the greatest talents we’ve ever seen in MMA. And I don’t think that any of that other stuff matters. I don’t think that that stuff would change that. With it or without it, Jon Jones was gonna be the world champion. That’s just how it is. And that’s the guy I’m preparing for.”
Do you agree with Anthony Smith? Do you believe Jon Jones would have been one of the greats whether he was on PEDs or not?
