"I bet Cormier is pumped" - Anthony Smith reacts to news of UFC-WWE officially merging to form TKO

Anthony Smith weighed in on the UFC-WWE merger officially being finalized earlier this week as they formed TKO, which is a new entity under the Endeavor banner.

During a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' and Michael Bisping addressed the merger that took place between the MMA and sports entertainment leaders. The former UFC title challenger mentioned that Daniel Cormier must have been ecstatic, especially considering that he is a big fan of WWE, saying:

"The merger's a pretty big deal. I bet [Daniel] Cormier is pumped...I seen a picture of him [Cormier at TKO's launch at the NYSE] looking like a little kid in the background...I'm surprised 'DC' made it on time for the flight...I love 'DC' but he's the most late person I've ever seen in my whole life." [5:07 - 5:36]

Anthony Smith also brought up that he enjoys what WWE offers with their product and complimented what they've been able to do. He mentioned that he admires the storytelling as well as the athleticism of their superstars.

He said:

"I like it [WWE] for the performance for sure, I enjoy it...I think what they [WWE] do is an art, especially the psychology side of it is really fascinating to me, how they create a story and they play it out over a long period, you know they have these storylines that go years." [6:18 - 6:52]

It remains to be seen whether more UFC fighters share Anthony Smith's sentiments on WWE or if they are fans that watch the program on a regular basis like Daniel Cormier.

Check out the full episode:

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Anthony Smith advises Conor McGregor to not compete at middleweight

Conor McGregor has garnered plenty of attention after suggesting that he could be fighting at 185lbs in the future.

Among those that took notice was Anthony Smith, who advised the Irishman to reconsider as he believes that he would be at a physical disadvantage. During an episode of the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' told Michael Bisping that it wouldn't be wise for McGregor to test the waters at middleweight because of how large some of the fighters are that cut down to make 185lbs.

He said:

"Alex Pereira made 185 [lbs]. Those are the type of size men. I could make 185 [lbs] if I really had to...Conor's not fighting at 185 [lbs]...I don't care if it was however many years ago, if you fight at 145 [lbs], you're gonna have a tough time at 185 [lbs]. [1:08:04 - 1:08:33]