Volatility has marked
Louis
Smolka’s tenure in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship—a tenure that covers 16
appearances across two stints in multiple weight classes.
The Hawaiian will attempt to keep his head above water in the
bantamweight division when he battles “The Ultimate Fighter” Season
18 finalist
Davey Grant
in a featured
UFC on ESPN 36 attraction this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Smolka has alternated wins and losses in each of his past
five outings, leaving his promotional record at a middling 8-8. He
last competed at UFC on ESPN 31, where he succumbed to punches from
Vince
Morales in the first round of their Dec. 4 pairing.
As Smolka approaches his compelling confrontation with Grant at 135
pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped chart his
course to this point:
Smolka laid claim to the Pacific Xtreme Combat flyweight
championship when he put away the once-beaten Filipino standout
with punches in the second round of their PXC 41 main event on Nov.
9, 2013 at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, Philippines. Cali met his
end 1:52 into Round 2. Smolka seized the reins from the incumbent
champion and never looked back, overwhelming him on the ground. His
initial bids for submissions failed—Cali’s code was difficult to
crack—but the Hawaiian’s stick-to-itiveness eventually paid
dividends. Smolka moved to a dominant position in the second round,
cut loose with ground-and-pound and forced referee Thomas Fan to
intervene. The victory moved him to 6-0 and set the stage for his
signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Accurate, high-volume punching and a relentless pace carried Smolka
to a unanimous decision over the highly regarded Turkish flyweight
as part of the UFC Fight Night 35 undercard on Jan. 15, 2014 in
Duluth, Georgia. All three judges inside the Arena at Gwinnett
Center scored it 29-28. Ozkilic was aggressive with his takedowns
but failed to effectively corral his elusive counterpart. Smolka,
who entered the cage as roughly a 3-to-1 underdog, swept and
escaped with surprising ease, often returning to his feet to resume
his attack. By the end of the first round, Ozkilic was a spent
force. Smolka gave him no quarry, unleashing punches, kicks and
standing elbows, along with a series of knee strikes from the Thai
clinch. He nearly finished in the closing seconds of Round 3, where
he moved to full mount and let loose with a volley of unanswered
blows. Nevertheless, the verdict was clear.
The Entram Gym prospect submitted the heavily favored Smolka with a
guillotine choke in the first round of their UFC Fight Night 96
flyweight showcase on Oct. 1, 2016 at the Moda Center in Portland,
Oregon. A replacement for the injured
Sergio
Pettis, Moreno finished it 2:23 into Round 1. “The Assassin
Baby” struck for a takedown inside the first 30 seconds and settled
in full guard. Smolka escaped to his feet but left his neck exposed
on an attempted single-leg. The unwise maneuver led to his undoing.
Moreno bit down on the guillotine, rolled to a mounted position and
then readjusted his grip to force a reluctant tapout from the
former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion. It was the first stoppage
loss of Smolka’s career.
The talented Brazilian made a triumphant return from a United
States Anti-Doping Agency suspension when he captured a one-sided
unanimous decision from Smolka in a UFC 219 flyweight prelim on
Dec. 30, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. In his first
appearance in more than a year, Pereira swept the scorecards with
30-26, 30-26 and 30-25 marks from the judges. Smolka endured a
nightmarish first round on his way to a fourth consecutive loss and
subsequent UFC release. The Hawaiian hit the deck three times,
Pereira exacting his damage with a lightning-quick left hook and a
powerful right cross. By the time the first round was done, the
right side of Smolka’s face was mush. Pereiera’s pace slowed over
the final 10 minutes, but he remained in complete control despite
easing his foot off the gas.
Team Oyama’s Smolka made a triumphant return to the Octagon and
submitted the promising promotional newcomer with an armbar in the
second round of their UFC Fight Night 141 prelim on Nov. 24, 2018
at Cadillac Arena in Beijing. Mudaerji bowed out 2:07 into Round 2.
Smolka flirted with a finish in the first round, where he executed
a takedown, advanced to the back and flattened out the 22-year-old
Chinese prospect before applying heavy ground-and-pound in the
waning seconds. He delivered another takedown in the middle stanza,
moved to full mount and caught the armbar during a subsequent
scramble. With his limb bent beyond its bounds, Mudaerji had no
choice but to tap.