Here’s the way you get on Anthony Smith’s bad side right quick.

You can talk trash if you’re promoting a fight, or if there’s a legitimate grudge to bear. If you’re just doing it to be a jerk, you’re the enemy of the one-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger, who on June 1 faces perennial contender Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on ESPN+ 1.

Take Luke Rockhold, for instance. When Smith vowed to fight the former UFC middleweight champ in the octagon or Aisle 5 of Walmart, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It was a visceral response to unprovoked and personal criticisms.

Smith, 30, knows his most recent performance against champ Jon Jones, a one-sided loss in a title challenge, was far from his best.. But he wants at least a modicum of respect for all his time in the game. Hearing none from Rockhold, he had it.

“The Conor (McGregor) thing, there’s either real beef, or he’s funny about it,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “It’s very clear that what Conor is doing is promotion. There’s no secret there. But Luke’s isn’t like that. He’s genuinely attacking me. There’s no promotion here. He’s just being an (expletive). Which is fine, but you’ve got to answer for that.

“Don’t act like we’re going to be in public places and we’re going to get along,” Smith said. “That’s not going to happen. I wasn’t raised like that. You talk like that in Nebraska, you’re going to get dragged out by your ears and get the (expletive) beat out of you.”

Before Rockhold called him a “bum,” Smith didn’t have much of an opinion about the ex-champ. But then again, that was before the ex-champ decided to move up to 205 pounds, and, Smith said, started trying to promote grudges that weren’t really there.

“If you want to talk your way into a fight, that’s fine,” he said. “There’s ways of going about it. You don’t have to convince me. I’m not the guy that you’ve got to goad into a fight. All you’ve got to do is ask. Want to fight? Sure. Yeah. Let’s do it. That’s as far as you’ve got to go.

“And if you want to build a fight, you’re not the (expletive) champion. So what are you building it for? You don’t get pay-per-view points. I don’t get PPV points. You’re not making any more money by being an (expletive). So what are we doing here? It’s a waste of time.”

It’s also the kind of fodder that the media eats up, and now, Smith’s name is now tied to Rockhold. He’ll require time off to heal nagging injuries from a disastrous outing against Jones and training camp for Gustafsson. But there’s little doubt he’d jump at a crack at Rockhold.

And with Rockhold scheduled to face Jan Blachowicz at UFC 239, they might be next for each other, anyway.

“I just don’t get what his beef is, and now, he just keeps going with it,” Smith said. ‘Oh, Alexander Gustafsson’s going to beat his ass.’ But maybe not, (expletive). You ever consider that? Maybe you should focus on your fight and worry about that, because you’re going to look real stupid if I beat Alex and you lose. Real stupid. Historically, his (expletive) talking hasn’t worked out well for him.”

As recently as last month, Rockhold was back on the attack, criticizing Smith for not keeping to his original wish to take time off after a disastrous outing against Jon Jones. Rockhold implied Smith didn’t stand up for himself and should have turned down Gustafsson, which could’ve settled their business.

Smith said he was just living up to his personal code.

“I’m not here trying to be some company guy,” Smith said. “I’m a man of my word. And I’ve told you guys from day one, if the UFC offers me a fight, I’ll take it – if I’m healthy. I’ve stuck to that from day (expletive) one. A lot of people say that in the UFC, but not a lot of people mean it. It’s just a soundbyte to put on your Twitter and make everyone think you’re badass. I don’t say it for any other reason than it being true.”

When Smith looks at Rockhold’s career, he sees someone with a sparse fighting schedule – and a tendency to point the finger at the wrong person.

And that’s why he’ll throw down in Aisle 5.

“I’m not a pretty boy like him,” Smith said. “Nobody wants to take pictures with me in the club. I’ve got to work for a living, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m working. I’m not out here trash talking people for no reason.

“That’s why nobody likes him. Nobody in the UFC likes him. None of the staff likes him. None of the executives like him. None of the fighters like him. So he can sit pretty and eat his meals on TMZ and talk all the (expletive) all he wants. But at the end of the day, no one likes you, and sometimes that’s what matters most. It’s about how you treat people and if people respect you.”

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