Colby Covington, one of the UFC’s most notorious trolls, has an image to uphold. But according to UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith, who will challenge Jon Jones for the title at UFC 235, ‘Chaos’ is rather timid behind closed doors. Smith got into a Twitter exchange with Covington last week and, speaking to Luke Thomas on a recent episode of The MMA Hour, ‘Lionhart’ explained why he reacted so hostile to the former UFC interim welterweight champion. “The only reason I said anything in that situation to Colby is because, a month ago when Colby was going off about losing his own title shot, he threw me under the bus almost to defend himself for needing one,” Smith said, per MMA Fighting’s Shaun Al-Shatti. “Like, ‘Well, Anthony Smith got one and he’s a piece of shit, so why can’t I get one?’ And I just, it’s the same with the Luke Rockhold thing. Like, I just hate people that are just assholes for no reason.” Covington has insulted just about every fighter on the UFC roster, and the 30-year-old has become somewhat of a wanted man in Brazil after calling Demian Maia’s countrymen ‘filthy animals’ in his UFC Fight Night 119 post-fight interview in 2017. According to Smith, however, Covington acts like a ‘scared cat’ when the cameras aren’t rolling and revealed that the American Top Team product has to distance himself from other UFC fighters in private. “My manager owns a gym in Chicago, so when we were both there fighting on that card (at UFC 225), I just trained at my manager’s gym because it’s more comfortable there,” Smith said. “Typically, I would stay in the host hotel with everyone else. But it’s not anywhere close to where the hotel was — it was a significant jaunt away. So I’m there working out and Colby comes in, because he has to find somewhere as far away from UFC fighters as he can get to train, not knowing that it’s owned by one of the managers of some of the guys in the UFC. And then he gets there and he’s the most skittish person I’ve ever seen. “He looks like a scared cat when he’s not around all the cameras — and I understand what he’s doing, I get it, but he’s put himself in a position where he can’t just be a normal person in normal places anymore because he’s pissed everybody off. So, he has to hide off in the corner of the gym the whole time and keep looking over his shoulder because he doesn’t know who wants to come in and slap him in the back of the head, and that’s how he is away from the cameras and everyone else. And that’s my only issue, is that he’s just attacking people who are not in his way. It’d be like me attacking ‘55ers. Like, what’s the point of that? I don’t understand how that puts you forward in your career anymore.” Covington was expected to challenge former teammate Tyron Woodley in a welterweight title unification bout, but the controversial UFC star was passed over by top-three contender Kamaru Usman, who will fight ‘T-Wood’ in the UFC 235 co-main event. UFC 235 also features a headlining light heavyweight championship bout between Jones and Smith, with the blockbuster event scheduled to take place next month, March 2nd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.<doc-sep>Anthony Smith has heard enough from Colby Covington. The 30-year-old light heavyweight, who challenges Jon Jones for the 205-pound title at UFC 235, made a point to fire back at Covington earlier this month on Twitter after Covington took a seemingly random jab at Jones. And for Smith, there was more behind the exchange than just defending his next opponent from one of MMA’s foremost online trolls. “The only reason I said anything in that situation to Colby is because, a month ago when Colby was going off about losing his own title shot, he threw me under the bus almost to defend himself for needing one,” Smith explained Monday on The MMA Hour. “Like, ‘Well, Anthony Smith got one and he’s a piece of shit, so why can’t I get one?’ And I just, it’s the same with the Luke Rockhold thing. Like, I just hate people that are just assholes for no reason.” its played out, Colby. Its not funny anymore. Stop throwing shade at my fight. Also, I heard you have a issue with me getting a title fight... next time I see you, we should talk about that. Or you gonna tuck your tail and hide in the corner of the gym like you did in Chicago? — Anthony Smith (@lionheartasmith) February 14, 2019 Smith went on to elaborate about the Chicago aspect of his tweet. He said he ran into Covington in an unexpected way during UFC 225 fight week last June — and the interaction proved to be telling, to say the least. “I don’t have any issue with Colby and I’ve never had any issue with Colby,” Smith said. “The Chicago thing that I was talking about was when Colby started really trash-talking everybody that wasn’t in his lane. It kinda changed how he has to act around people, because he doesn’t even remember who he’s offended and who he’s upset, so he can’t do the things that regular fighters do, like train in the host hotel with everyone else. “My manager owns a gym in Chicago, so when we were both there fighting on that card (at UFC 225), I just trained at my manager’s gym because it’s more comfortable there. Typically, I would stay in the host hotel with everyone else. But it’s not anywhere close to where the hotel was — it was a significant jaunt away. So I’m there working out and Colby comes in, because he has to find somewhere as far away from UFC fighters as he can get to train, not knowing that it’s owned by one of the managers of some of the guys in the UFC. And then he gets there and he’s the most skittish person I’ve ever seen,” Smith continued. “He looks like a scared cat when he’s not around all the cameras — and I understand what he’s doing, I get it, but he’s put himself in a position where he can’t just be a normal person in normal places anymore because he’s pissed everybody off. So, he has to hide off in the corner of the gym the whole time and keep looking over his shoulder because he doesn’t know who wants to come in and slap him in the back of the head, and that’s how he is away from the cameras and everyone else. And that’s my only issue, is that he’s just attacking people who are not in his way. It’d be like me attacking ‘55ers. Like, what’s the point of that? I don’t understand how that puts you forward in your career anymore.” Smith challenges Jones on March 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a perfect 3-0 as a UFC light heavyweight, having notched consecutive stoppage victories over Rashad Evans, Mauricio Rua, and Volkan Oezdemir.<doc-sep>
Anthony Smith is not a fan of Colby Covington “Lionheart”, who is set to face Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 235 on Mar. 2, didn’t hold back on the controversial welterweight After a Twitter exchange with Covington a few weeks back, Smith decided to address the issue on The MMA Hour on Monday. 🙄 its played out, Colby. Its not funny anymore. Stop throwing shade at my fight. Also, I heard you have a issue with me getting a title fight… next time I see you, we should talk about that. Or you gonna tuck your tail and hide in the corner of the gym like you did in Chicago? — Anthony Smith (@lionheartasmith) February 14, 2019 “The only reason I said anything in that situation to Colby is because, a month ago when Colby was going off about losing his own title shot, he threw me under the bus almost to defend himself for needing one,” Smith explained (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Like, ‘Well, Anthony Smith got one and he’s a piece of shit, so why can’t I get one?’ And I just, it’s the same with the Luke Rockhold thing. Like, I just hate people that are just assholes for no reason.” Anthony Smith went on to explain that he had a run in with Covington last June during UFC 225 fight week. From that interaction, Smith believes the Covington persona we all see online and in interviews is not the same off camera. “My manager owns a gym in Chicago, so when we were both there fighting on that card (at UFC 225), I just trained at my manager’s gym because it’s more comfortable there. So I’m there working out and Colby comes in, because he has to find somewhere as far away from UFC fighters as he can get to train, not knowing that it’s owned by one of the managers of some of the guys in the UFC. And then he gets there and he’s the most skittish person I’ve ever seen. He looks like a scared cat when he’s not around all the cameras — and I understand what he’s doing, I get it, but he’s put himself in a position where he can’t just be a normal person in normal places anymore because he’s pissed everybody off. “So, he has to hide off in the corner of the gym the whole time and keep looking over his shoulder because he doesn’t know who wants to come in and slap him in the back of the head, and that’s how he is away from the cameras and everyone else. And that’s my only issue, is that he’s just attacking people who are not in his way. It’d be like me attacking ‘55ers. Like, what’s the point of that? I don’t understand how that puts you forward in your career anymore.” UFC 235 takes place Mar. 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Anthony Smith challenges Jon Jones for the light heavyweight championship. This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 2/19/2019. This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM