Unbeaten since reducing his original weight in 2022, Brazilian light heavyweight Philip Lenz wants to send Anthony Smith into retirement.
The 2018 PFL Heavyweight Champion came up short in his first two UFC heavyweight bouts against Andrei Arlovski and Tanner Boser, but has recently rebounded with back-to-back wins over Marcin Prachnio and Ovince Saint Preux. He demolished the latter in just 49 seconds earlier this year.
Lins will face off against Maxim Grishin in the preliminary segment of UFC Vegas 74 this Saturday at UFC APEX, and his post-fight callout will be ready in case of a sure victory.
Lins said on this week’s episode of the MMA Fighting podcast Free exchange. “I think it’s a good fight. He’s very experienced, he’s had great fights and he’s proven to be very dangerous, so let’s go for it. If the UFC asks me [who I want] And he wants to give me this fight next, so let’s do it.”
Smith is a 36- to 18-year-old in the sport and once challenged Jon Jones for the UFC belt, but dropped his latest to Magomed Ankalaev and Johnny Walker. Lionheart said after his last defeat that he “won’t go out like this”, so he wants Lenz to have his last fight.
“It’s time to take the gloves off,” the Brazilian said with a laugh.
He added, “There are a lot of changes in the division and this opens up the field for those who are not rated,” referring to Jon Jones’ full-time move to heavyweight and Glover Teixeira’s retirement. “I think another good win would earn me a fight with a ranked guy. I’ve asked to select opponents before but I feel this fight with Maxim Grishin makes sense too. I’m not a young athlete so I need to make big moves on my way to achieving my goals.”
Lins feels like he’s not carrying any extra weight on his shoulders after he scored his first “much-needed” knockout victory under the UFC banner in February. A talented Russian with 32 wins in 43 professional bouts, Grishin joined the UFC in 2020 after a nine-fight unbeaten run, and has gone 2-2 so far inside the Octagon.
Lenz said about Grishin: “He fought great battles and fought great opponents.” “I need to fight smart but at the same time do what I do best, which is to be aggressive and go for it when I see an opportunity. My speed and jujitsu will be the difference in this fight.
“Let’s see if I get another knockout, or maybe a submission. The important thing is that I go out there and get my third win in a row in the organization. People love to watch exciting fights and people get knocked out, and it motivates me because it’s my style.”