Elijah Smith thinks thereâs no better division in the UFC currently than bantamweight, and heâs keen to make his mark in it.
Smith (7-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is one of the newest members of the UFC roster after earning a contract on this past Tuesdayâs episode of Dana Whiteâs Contender Series. He earned a unanimous decision win over Aaron Tau in the featured bout of the card, which he took on roughly two weeksâ notice as a replacement.
It was a historic win for Smith, became heâs the second, second-generation fighter to join the UFC roster after his father, Gilbert Smith, made one octagon appearance in 2013.
At just 22, the future for Smith seems bright. He said his showing at DWCS 72 was only a portion of what heâs capable of, and he did it under unideal circumstances.
âI was not even close to 100 percent,â Smith told MMA Junkie. âI would say I probably went into that fight like 70, 75 percent. I play UFC 5 (video game) and I have my own created player and in the game in career you have weeks youâre supposed to go through training camp so when you get to the fight you have 100 percent energy and health is good. I probably went into that fight probably around 75 percent, so I didnât get to show the world and Dana White the full Elijah Smith. I was happy I got to put on a performance that I was happy with.â
Now that heâs been inked to a UFC contract, thereâs going to be nowhere for Smith to hide in the 135-pound division. He likes it that way, he said, because it wonât be long before we seen if his status as a blue chip prospect multiplies.
Smith has expectations of greatness for his career, and said he is already excited for the day he gets to share the octagon with some of the elite names.
âItâs really exciting,â Smith said. âI wouldnât want to be in any other weight class because this is the most exciting in the UFC. Iâve been watching these guys since â who really made me become a fan of the division is T.J. Dillashaw. When he beat (Renan) Barao I was like, âOh man.â Then he beat Cody Garbrandt twice, Iâm like, âThis is the division to be in.â Youâve got Dominick Cruz. Thereâs so much history in this division and I want to add onto this history.
âI want to keep building because I think this is the best division in the UFC. When I see guys like Merab (Dvalishvili) and Sean OâMalley and (Cory) Sandhagen and all these guys in the top 10, top five. Itâs like, weâre going to run into each other at some point in time. Itâs going to be bittersweet fighting them because Iâm a fan of all of them, but itâs a business.â
Itâs Smithâs intention to build himself up to being one of the best in the world, and with that create a story for himself that stands on his own. Smith said he is currently relishing the historic nature of his UFC entry and how it ties to his father, but over time, he hopes that fades and heâs looked at as an individual.
âI am ready to create my own story,â Smith said. âTheyâre always going to bring that up because my dad is going to be in my corner every fight that I have in the UFC and I think theyâre going to continuously bring that up, but as I continue on with my career, I think thatâs slowly going to die out because I will be creating a name for myself. Thereâs nothing wrong with living on my fatherâs shadow and carrying on my own name, but I do want to start veering off and creating a name for myself and my own story.â
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