"That's them waiting to see what happens" - Anthony Smith believes UFC is waiting for outcome of his fight with Magomed Ankalaev to decide Jiri Prochazka's first title defense

Anthony Smith is confident that a strong win at UFC 277 will net him the next shot at 205-pound gold.

Speaking with Mike Heck of MMA Fighting, Smith discussed the Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira fight. He spoke about where the fight ranks among all-time great UFC light heavyweight title fights, recent analyst projects, and so much more.

Regarding whether his Magomed Ankalev fight on July 30 could jettison him towards a world championship crack, Smith said:

"Well Dana has already said that this is the number one contender fight. So winner gets a title shot. I think the fact that they haven't re-booked Glover (Teixeira) vs Jiri (Prochazka) or Jan Blachowicz vs Jiri, I think that's them waiting to see what happens with (Magomed) Ankalaev and I. If we have a stinker and it sucks, I think they'll slide one of those guys in."

Anthony Smith continued:

"But I think if we go out and do what Ankalaev and I can do, I think that the winner of this fight gets a title shot no matter what...I've been in one boring fight out of fifty. I don't suspect that there's going to be too many more of those and I'm excited for the fight. I love the challenge. I love the style matchup. I think it's really tailor made for me."

Watch the interview below:

Ankalaev is 17-1 overall in his mixed martial arts career and is riding an eight-fight win streak heading into this weekend's pay-per-view.

He is the No. 4 ranked contender at light heavyweight in the UFC while conversely, Smith is ranked at No. 5 in the weight category.

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Anthony Smith's UFC light heavyweight path

If Smith were to propel himself to a world title shot, that would make his sophomore attempt at capturing UFC gold at light heavyweight. His first attempt did not pan out as Smith fell to Jon Jones by way of unanimous decision at UFC 235 in March 2019.

'Lionheart' has had quite the career arc. He was on the Strikeforce circuit for a bit before his initial UFC debut resulted in a submission loss to Antonio Braga Neto in June 2013.

After fights with Bellator, CFFC, and RFA, Anthony Smith returned to the UFC circuit. Initially, he did so as a middleweight before transitioning to light heavyweight in June 2018.

Anthony Smith is currently riding a three-fight winning streak with wins over Devin Clark, Jimmy Crute, and Ryan Spann through that run.