Anthony Smith comes clean about rumored beef with Michael Bisping ahead of UFC Kansas City fight: "It wasn’t a surprise to anyone behind the scenes"

Anthony Smith is gearing up to fight Zhang Mingyang at UFC Kansas City this weekend. Ahead of the bout, the American fighter addressed rumors regarding his supposed conflict with UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping.

For context, 'Lionheart' was previously a regular co-host on Bisping's podcast, Believe You Me. However, Smith later stopped appearing on the show to partner with Home of Fight for his own show, On Paper Podcast.

The developments sparked speculation about a potential rift between Smith and 'The Count'. Recently, in an interview with Damon Martin of MMA Fighting, he dismissed these rumors and said:

"We’re good... He would have told everybody — if Bisping hated me, you guys would know it. When has he ever minced words? There’s things that happened that neither of us has talked about in the background. Nothing to do with conflict or anything like that. Bisping and I are good."

He added:

“That was the plan in conversations that Bisping and I had from the beginning [that I would go on to create my own show]. There was no shock I was going to start my own show. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone behind the scenes."

Check out Anthony Smith's comments below (1:33):

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A look at Anthony Smith's UFC career ahead of his retirement

Since his UFC debut, Anthony Smith's career in the promotion has been filled with ups and downs. Initially, his impressive performances led him to contend for the UFC light heavyweight championship. However, 'Lionheart' couldn't defeat Jon Jones at UFC 235 in his title shot.

Following that fight, Smith's career record stands at six wins and seven losses. Notable fighters such as Magomed Ankalaev, Khalil Rountree Jr., and Dominick Reyes have defeated the American. Now, Smith's upcoming fight this weekend will mark his 60th MMA bout, after which he is set to retire.