Anthony Smith can’t be denied anymore. When he defeated Volkan Oezdemir last October, we denied Smith a huge jump up in the light heavyweight rankings since he’d barely joined the division four months earlier. But now five fights into his tenure at 205 pounds, it’s clear Smith is among the elite after his latest finish. Over the weekend, Smith submitted Alexander Gustafsson in the fourth round of their UFC on ESPN+ 11 headliner to move to 4-1 in the division. Aside from a decision loss to champion Jon Jones in March at UFC 235, Smith has finished four fights at light heavyweight – against a pair of future Hall of Famers in Rashad Evans and Mauricio Hua and a pair of former title challengers in Oezdemir and Gustafsson.
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USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA rankings, June 4: Anthony Smith makes big leap – MMA Junkie