Anthony Smith weighs in on Magomedov Ankalaev being listed as an early favorite against Alex Pereira: "He's not going to wrestle"

Anthony Smith recently weighed in on Magomed Ankalaev being listed as an early favorite for his upcoming light heavyweight title bout against Alex Pereira. The long-awaited title fight was made official last Saturday and is scheduled to headline UFC 313 on Mar.8.

The No.1 ranked light heavyweight has been at odds with the reigning light heavyweight champion and even claimed that he was ducking him for more favorable matchups. Pereira has clapped back at Ankalaev and reaffirmed that he defends his title against whomever the UFC deems as the top contender and labelled his fighting style as being boring.

During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'Lionheart' shared his thoughts on the early betting lines and noted that he was shocked. Smith referenced some of Ankalaev's past bouts and how he has looked in striking exchanges.

Smith mentioned that he has a difficult time believing that Ankalaev would be favored, especially considering he claimed he would stand with Pereira:

"That's crazy [that Ankalaev is favored]...I don't think you have to look any further than [Ankalaev's] own words. He's not gonna wrestle Alex Pereira, that's what he said. I don't have any reason not to believe him. [He] says he's gonna stand in front of him and knock him out. I mean, maybe he'll double cross us but I don't think that would be great for him. But, is there anybody you'd favor in a striking match versus [Pereira]?"

Check out Anthony Smith's comments below:

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Anthony Smith discusses misconception of Magomed Ankalaev being a wrestler

In addition to sharing his thoughts on the early betting lines for Alex Pereira vs. Magomed Ankalaev, Anthony Smith discussed the misconception that the Russian is a wrestler.

During the aforementioned clip, Smith mentioned that Ankalaev hasn't really demonstrated a wrestling-heavy approach aside from a few bouts:

"[Wrestling is] not [Ankalaev's] game. That's really not his game. The only time he really went heavy wrestling, a little bit in the Paul Craig fight and then the Jan Blachowicz fight, when he was done to complete legs, so it's not really his style."

Check out the full episode featuring Anthony Smith below: