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Smith: Anderson-Blachowicz 'a silly fight'

Jeff Bottari / UFC / Getty

UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Smith doesn't think the Corey Anderson versus Jan Blachowicz rematch should be happening.

"I think it's a silly fight, to be honest," Smith said on SiriusXM's "MMA Tonight" on Tuesday. "Both of those guys were offered fights with me in the last two-and-a-half weeks. Both of them turned it down."

Smith said there is no reason Anderson, who is set to meet Blachowicz in the UFC Rio Rancho main event Feb. 15, shouldn't have taken the fight against him.

"Corey Anderson is a coward," Smith said. "He had every opportunity in the world; he begged me for a fight when I already was matched with Jon Jones after he beat (Ilir) Latifi. He was constantly talking shit - constantly calling me a middleweight, that I'm not a real light heavyweight, and all the trash talk that we've already gone over.

"He had the opportunity (to fight me) not once, not twice, but three times in the last month, we'll say, since his fight, and turned them all down. He passed up an opportunity to fight someone higher ranked than Jan."

Anderson and Blachowicz picked up high-profile wins over Johnny Walker and Ronaldo Souza, respectively, in November.

Smith hasn't fought since a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in May.

While Smith is frustrated with Anderson's decision, "Lionheart" understands where Blachowicz is coming from. Blachowicz lost to Anderson in 2015, and Smith believes Blachowicz would simply prefer to get that one back.

"I'm not gonna give Jan any grief for turning the fight down," Smith said, "because he turned it down to chase Corey Anderson. ... Even post-fight, he didn't talk about me, he talked about Corey Anderson and he talked about Thiago Santos. I know better than anybody wanting to avenge a loss."

Smith, ranked No. 3 in the division, said his next opponent is locked in and they are just waiting for the location to be confirmed. Smith said he expects news of his next bout to break in the next week or two.

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