Elijah Smith thinks there’s no better division in the UFC currently than bantamweight, and he’s 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 Tuesday’s episode of Dana White’s Contender Series. He earned a unanimous decision win over Aaron Tau in the featured bout of the card, which he took on roughly two weeks’ notice as a replacement.
It was a historic win for Smith, became he’s 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 he’s capable of, and he did it under unideal circumstances.
“I was not even close to 100 percent,” Smith told MMA Junkie. “I 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 you’re 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 didn’t 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.”
Now that he’s been inked to a UFC contract, there’s going to be nowhere for Smith to hide in the 135-pound division. He likes it that way, he said, because it won’t 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.
“It’s really exciting,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t want to be in any other weight class because this is the most exciting in the UFC. I’ve been watching these guys since – who really made me become a fan of the division is T.J. Dillashaw. When he beat (Renan) Barao I was like, ‘Oh man.’ Then he beat Cody Garbrandt twice, I’m like, ‘This is the division to be in.’ You’ve got Dominick Cruz. There’s so much history in this division and I want to add onto this history.
“I want to keep building because I think this is the best division in the UFC. When I see guys like Merab (Dvalishvili) and Sean O’Malley and (Cory) Sandhagen and all these guys in the top 10, top five. It’s like, we’re going to run into each other at some point in time. It’s going to be bittersweet fighting them because I’m a fan of all of them, but it’s a business.”
It’s Smith’s 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 he’s looked at as an individual.
“I am ready to create my own story,” Smith said. “They’re 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 they’re going to continuously bring that up, but as I continue on with my career, I think that’s slowly going to die out because I will be creating a name for myself. There’s nothing wrong with living on my father’s 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.”
