If you want a rival, you got one right here - Anthony Smith responds to Alex Pereira's scathing digs

Anthony Smith recently caught the ire of Alex Pereira after his comments on the latter's light heavyweight debut in which he claimed that 'Poatan' was not the same 'large, scary monster'. 'Lionheart' recently doubled down on his comments, while sharing that he is open to a rivalry with the former middleweight champion.

During a recent appearance on MMA Today, the No.8-ranked light heavyweight shared that he texted Glover Teixeira, who is friends and training partners with Pereira, before stating that he believes his comments were misunderstood. He continued by adding:

"The whole question was, 'you're a guy that moved up from 185 to 205, what are some of the things that you experienced that Alex may be experiencing, and what'd you see the difference is?' I said, 'the difference is he's not the largest guy in that division. That he went from being the largest middleweight on planet Earth, to a normal size 205er.'

Smith pointed out that he labeled Pereira a special talent before adding:

"I said a bunch of nice s**t about you and you're going to talk s**t? I don't think so. That's not how this works. That's not how this works, and then we're just going to shake hands when we see each other because you're doing this media thing, because you're looking for a rival? If you want a f**king rival, you got one right here. I didn't do s**t to you."

Check out Anthony Smith's comments on Alex Pereira below:

Smith added that he has been complimentary of Pereira and gets along with his coaches and training partners. While 'Lionheart' respects 'Poatan' as a fighter, it is clear that he is not backing down from a potential rivalry with the No.3-ranked light heavyweight.

What did Alex Pereira say about Anthony Smith?

Following Anthony Smith's initial comments on Alex Pereira, the latter took to YouTube to issue a response. 'Poatan' fired back, stating:

"He’s just a bitter man. The only ones who speak bad about me are Anthony Smith types. Washed-up vets who never amounted to anything, who are still fighting, they’re in a really tight spot, or the guy who is still a nobody, but those who are already doing well, I don’t see them talking about me. It’s just the ones who are beneath me."

Check out Alex Pereira's response to Anthony Smith below (starting at the 6:20 mark):

While Pereira appears in line to face Jiri Prochazka for the vacant light heavyweight title, a bout against Smith could be a possibility down the line. It is unclear, however, if these issues can be resolved.