"World title or die trying" - Anthony Smith plans to take Magomed Ankalaev's head off to earn a light heavyweight title shot

Anthony Smith returns to action on the pay-per-view portion of UFC 277 in a light heavyweight contender's match against Magomed Ankalaev. While Smith thinks a win over the tough Dagestani is enough to clinch a title shot, he wants a decisive finish for himself, and to silence the doubters.

In a new interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto, Smith detailed his mindset coming into this pivotal fight for the 205 pound division.

"I think people, they look at the 50 fights, they look at the losses and maybe overlook me a bit. I'm 20-5 in my last 25 fights, three of those losses are to champions or title contenders. The strength of schedule is three times harder than Ankalaev has ever fought. I've got a lot of respect for that guy, but I'm not coming in to squeak out a win. I'm coming in to take his head. I need a finish and that's what I'm looking for."

There's a lot of potential opponents for current light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka. Jan Blachowicz has been demanding a 'Battle for Europe,' while Prochazka has asked for a rematch against Glover Teixeira. Anthony Smith is laser focused on winning the 205 pound belt, too. He said:

"The title is the only thing that's left. That's it. I'll never be happy, I'll never be able to sleep well at night until I win a title. I've been saying that for years: world title or die tryin', I don't want to be doing this s*** when I'm 55. So that's why this fight is so important, that's why I've worked so hard, pushed so hard."

Watch Anthony Smith discuss his UFC 277 fight against Magomed Ankalaev below:

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Anthony Smith vs. Magomed Ankalaev is a No. 1 contender fight unless it's "a stinker and it sucks"

There's a lot of fighters at the top of the light heavyweight division that want a title shot against current champion Jiri Prochazka. None of them has put a solid stamp on the number one contender spot, though.

Glover Teixeira just lost to Prochazka, and Jan Blachowicz beat Aleksandar Rakic off a fluke knee injury. That leaves the door open for the winner of the Anthony Smith vs. Magomed Ankalaev fight at UFC 277.

In a recent interview with MMA Fighting, 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."

Smith went on to remind viewers that he's been in one boring fight in his whole career, so he wasn't too worried aobut that possibility. However, Ankalaev has proven he's more than happy to slow a fight down to a painful grind if that's what it takes to win.