Anthony Smith stands behind his recent comments about an unsavory interaction between his supporters at a UFC event and social media influencer Dan Bilzerian. He just regrets that Donald Cerrone got caught in the crossfire.
In May, Smith recounted a story on his Believe You Me podcast with co-host Michael Bisping that stemmed from an alleged drunken exchange between his family and friends and the two popular figures in March 2019 during Smith’s light heavyweight title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 235. Smith accused Cerrone and Bilzerian of forcing his supporters out of front row seats at the Las Vegas event. He also accused Bilzerian specifically of watching pornography on his phone while seated next to Smith’s mother.
Cerrone recently responded to the story at UFC Austin media day and accused Smith of fabricating the incident, saying bluntly, “The whole story doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Smith isn’t backing down, but he’s sorry he called Cerrone out publicly.
“Honesty, I haven’t said anything about it because I wasn’t intentionally trying to s*** on ‘Cowboy.’ That wasn’t the purpose,” Smith told The Schmo. “I think it was collateral damage. I was really trying to s*** on Dan Bilzerian. So, I stand by everything that I said, but I wasn’t trying to s*** on ‘Cowboy.’ Initially, I wasn’t even going to say his name. So I’m fairly confident that ‘Cowboy’ and I could sit down and have a five-minute conversation or less, and we could hash it out. It’s on the record. You can find it anywhere, how much I’ve looked up to ‘Cowboy,’ and I’ve said most of those things like less than three years ago.
“So how many times have you heard me say I want to be the light heavyweight ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone? I look up to that guy. So I don’t have any beef with ‘Cowboy.’ When I told the story, I didn’t have any beef with ‘Cowboy,’ it wasn’t meant for ‘Cowboy.’”
Bilzerian also responded back in May in a message Cerrone posted to his Instagram Stories, accusing Smith of telling a “nonsensical story where you’re using my name for click bait.” Bilzerian added that Smith’s “depiction of this story is complete bulls***.”
On that front, the UFC light heavyweight disagrees. He’s not Bilzerian’s biggest fan. He just didn’t mean to also drag down a colleague in Cerrone who Smith clearly has a lot of respect for.
“I am guilty of maybe being on a podcast with a good friend of mine and telling a story,” Smith said. “I don’t know, to be very honest, my mom had just passed away like two weeks before that, maybe I was in my feelings a little bit. And I had never told the story because my mom was still alive, she was just embarrassed by it. So, I think maybe I was in my feelings and just got wrapped up in a conversation with a friend, and maybe didn’t realize how many people might be listening. So on that end of it, I probably should’ve just said something to ‘Cowboy,’ but I didn’t really have any beef with him. We were cool, that’s why I never said anything.
“So I hope that this blows over, because I don’t like feeling like ‘Cowboy’ and I have beef, because I do look up to ‘Cowboy’ and the things he’s done. And I’ve seen him interact with people — ‘Cowboy’s’ a good dude. And I don’t want anyone to think any different, and that wasn’t the purpose of me telling that story.”
