Anthony Smith responds to Alex Pereira’s $50,000 challenge: ‘I’ll choke the sh*t out of him’

Anthony Smith says he’ll gladly take Alex Pereira‘s money, and submit Pereira if the UFC can put together the light heavyweight champion’s challenge.

Smith picked up an upset win over Vitor Petrino with a first-round submission in the featured bout of Saturday’s UFC 301 event. Prior to the promotion’s return to Brazil, Pereira challenged Smith to a grappling match in a recent interview on the Connect Cast, and put up $50,000 with Smith being able to start in a dominant position. Following Smith’s win, he responded to “Poatan’s” comments.

“Alex Pereira said he would put up [$50,000] but I could start on his back? I could start on his back, hooks in and I got five minutes to finish him and he wants to put $50K up for it? I’ll take his $50K. I’ll take his money,” Smith said at the UFC 301 post-fight press conference.

“If I start on his back, I’ll choke the sh*t out of him, 100 percent.”

Smith entered the bout against the undefeated Petrino coming off of a stoppage loss to Khalil Rountree, and dropping three of his past four outings, and did so as one of the card’s biggest underdogs.

“Lionheart” has received criticism from the MMA community for some past comments breaking down Pereira’s abilities inside the octagon, and vows that he’s only doing it from an analytical perspective, and not talking trash. Smith was asked at Saturday night’s presser if he believed Pereira’s black belt was “fraudulent,” because the 35-year-old had asked media members in the past if “you guys think he’s a black belt,” which was said to Smith by a reporter in attendance.

“I don’t know what I meant when I said that, [but] I would never call anybody’s black belt fraudulent,” Smith explained. “Maybe I meant, I don’t know, like, I don’t believe that Alex Pereira is probably a high level black belt in the gi. I don’t think he’s, probably, like crazy competitive, like a in an IBJJF format, but I would never call anybody’s jiu jitsu black belt fraudulent.

“He’s probably put the time in, and if it’s from Glover Teixeira, I’ve got a tough time really arguing with that too much. I think there’s levels to black belts, you know what I mean? But I would respect his black belt just like I would anybody else’s.”