"Was definitely Bogdan Guskov" - Fans react after Anthony Smith reveals he was offered quick turnaround following UFC 301 win

Anthony Smith revealed that he was offered a fight by the UFC following his win over rising contender Vitor Petrino via first-round submission at UFC 301. 'Lionheart' beat the surging Petrino in convincing fashion, and emerged from the bout relatively unscathed.

On a recent episode of the Believe You Me podcast, 'Lionheart' admitted that the offer seemed lucrative to him at first since he had just completed a training camp and absorbed little to no damage against Petrino. Additionally, another win could potentially bring him closer to a title shot.

However, he declined the offer and explained the reasoning behind his decision:

"If I find myself [getting the title shot], great. End goal, that's the plan. But I can't let that guide my decision-making. I know me. I can physically be there and get ready to fight, in shape... But mentally, I couldn't do another back-to-back training camp like that and not fall apart mentally. I would be a couple of weeks into [the training camp] and I would already be pissed off. I wouldn't want to be away from my family."

Check out Anthony Smith's comments below (16:46):

Smith's statement was recently posted on by MMA Orbit on X (formerly Twitter). Fans took to the comments section and tried to guess the potential opponent's name:

"Was definitely Bogdan Guskov," @MMA_is_peak commented.

"Ankalaev rematch," @lafaussepiste commented.

"Bro is old. He cannot be jumping in short notice. Gotta be a little more wise," @MMAB0t commented.

"Good because these upcoming cards stink," @jambandsroasted commented.

While most fans gave their earnest take on Smith's statement, others were more jovial in the comments section, with comments like:

"What's the point of saying you turned down a fight if you just wouldn't mention it," @kazumaTheHands wrote.

"Bro got his 8 times and needs time to recover," @ZoFoshizo commented.

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Michael Bisping advises Anthony Smith to tread carefully at this stage of his career

Anthony Smith has been one of the most active fighters on the UFC roster and has competed 57 times during his 16-year-long professional MMA career. He has been in several wars and at 35, 'Lionheart' appears to be at the twilight of his career.

During the aforementioned episode of the Believe You Me podcast, Michael Bisping lauded Smith's decision to not make a quick turnaround and gave him friendly advice:

"At 35, 36... You don't want to misjudge things now. You don't want to make mistakes. You could take that fight and you could very, very well go and win - Two quick wins, two paydays. That's really attractive... But you've got to be professional." [16:44]