Anthony Smith’s Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA Debut Gets Bold Prediction From Ex-Jon Jones Foe

Anthony Smith and Chase Sherman will go to war in bare knuckle MMA in a matter of hours and someone who has history inside the UFC cage with the latter has broken down the bout. Jorge Masvidal’s Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA promotion returns with a pair of 16 man, $500 K tournaments for heavyweights and lightweights under gloveless mixed martial arts rules.

The referenced fighter who has history with Chase Sherman is Parker Porter who earned a UFC win over the former when they clashed years back. With Masvidal’s promotion returning, Anthony Smith also returns from his short lived retirement as he battles former BKFC heavyweight champ and ex-UFC vet Chase Sherman at Ovalo Feria Ganadera in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Friday, April 10th.

When offering up his thoughts on that particular matchup with Smith battling Sherman in bare knuckle MMA action tomorrow, Porter said [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],

“I think that’s going to be a great matchup. I’m interested to see [it]… That’s going to be really interesting to see because obviously I think Anthony Smith is an incredible fighter, super talented, very well-rounded. So to see him step up to the heavyweight division and see how he handles that difference in size and weight. He is by no means a small guy to begin with.”

“The fact that he was even cutting down to 205 [pounds] is impressive. I got the opportunity to meet him when I fought in Singapore. I think that’s going to be very much in Anthony’s favor. But then again, also, not only is he going up to heavyweight, but he’s also having the new element of taking the gloves off where that changes things a little bit. Some people don’t always respond well to that. But I would still be putting my money on Anthony Smith for that one. No, flak or smoke towards Chase Sherman. I just think Anthony’s just that good of a fighter.”

When asked if the assessment is rooted in Smith’s ability to adapt to that bare knuckle specific skill set with the empirical evidence piece in bare knuckle MMA speaking to a lot more fight finishing submission sequences in the context of Smith’s demonstrable ability to secure submissions in fights, Porter stated [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],

“I think more because like when you get hit with a bare knuckle versus a gloved hand, that’s a different feeling. It’s a different sensation but with somebody like Anthony who has the level of experience that he has, he’s not just going to all of a sudden crumble up and start to turn tail. Just because he got tagged a little bit different or something hurt a little bit more than what he’s experienced in the past versus a glove.”

Anthony Smith has a heavy advantage over Chase Sherman in Gloveless MMA bout, Per Porter

Further delving into the machinations of the matchup with Smith and Sherman, Porter continued [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],

“With [Anthony Smith] having such a strong jiu-jitsu game, taking the gloves off is a huge advantage for him. Now he can grip everything better. He can sneak his hands into tighter situations for different kinds of submissions such as rear naked [chokes] and whatnot. I think yeah, and I still think that this is going to be heavily in Anthony’s advantage.”

At one point, some people weren’t sure if Gamebred Bare Knuckle MMA would come back and after mentioning how this gives bare knuckle fans of different persuasions, whether it’s boxing or MMA, plenty of quality shows to watch now, Porter quipped [via Bare Knuckle Bowker],

“100%. Yeah, I was actually really nervous when I saw that Gamebred had the big layoff that they did. I was like, “Oh no, has something gone [wrong]?” Like we got to bring that back. It’s kind of a staple in the bare knuckle world. So I’m really happy to see that they’re coming back with that show and then also having somebody like Anthony Smith versus Chase Sherman headlining that card.”