Jon Jones may be taking Anthony Smith seriously, as he has reiterated time and time again, but he believes there is a reason behind the different career trajectories of himself and Smith. And in spite of Anthony Smith calling to question Jones’s credibility when he speaks, Jones believes that between the two of them, only one has the track record of backing his words up with actions in the Octagon at the championship level:

“The difference between Anthony and I, I feel like the things he says, his coach has put into his head and is trying to get him to buy into,” Jones told reporters at a media scrum earlier this week. “I don’t think he actually lived the life of some of the things he says and things like that.”

“I’ve been the same guy since I was 23 years old. So when I say things like, I’m taking this fight seriously or I say things like, “I’m gonna finish this fight,” or,” Anthony’s just another pawn or piece in this puzzle, and I’m gonna fish this fight, and I’m gonna move on because it’s not about him, just like it wasn’t about DC, just like it wasn’t about Gustafsson,’ I mean this stuff. I really mean it. I’m living proof of the things I say. “

Ultimately, Jon Jones believes that Anthony Smith is not destined for greatness and the reason behind that belief is a simple one: if Smith was meant to be a champion, he would have already been one after over 40 fights as a professional, and over 70 total.

“This guy has 13 losses,” Jones said. “So at the end of the day, he can say whatever he has to say, but he knows he’s come up short 1,000 times before. If he was meant to be great, he would be great already. He has 70 fights. I only have 25. Between his amateur career, he has 70 fights, and I only have 25. If he was meant to be great, he’d be great already.”

In spite of his fight experience, Anthony Smith is only 30 years old, which is younger than Jon Jones (31). So Anthony Smith still has plenty of time to prove Jones wrong, but no time may be more opportune than this Saturday, March 2, in the main event of UFC 235 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.