wont embed ?
āSo, my mom got me into mixed martial arts,ā Smith told MMA Mania in a recent interview. āCrazy right? Usually, moms donāt like seeing their kids get hit, but she is a big fan of the sport. After my football career ended, I asking myself āWhat am I gonna do now?ā And my mom was like, āWell, Iām gonna let the streets take you.ā So, shortly after that she introduced me to MMA and I was fighting literally a week later. It was crazy.ā
It turned out to be a great decision because Smith took to MMA very well. Since returning to active competition in 2022, he has knocked out all five of his opponents in the first round with all of them being under three minutes. And when he knocks his opponents out, most of the time they wake up in the different reality.
His most recent knockout came in March of 2023 against Jakori Savage at Peak Fighting 27.
Check it out:
This weekend at UFC 288, Smith faces UFC veteran Parker Porter in the āEarly Prelimā headliner. Currently, he sits at a +140 underdog on DraftKings.
Completely unnecessary follow up in the first fight. Like he saw the ref moving in to stop it and raced to get one more bomb in.
Always good to see a HW though. Good speed and power. Looks like a Lewis/Tuivasa type - exciting style and off beat personality whoāll be more of a fan favorite than a legit contender.
explosive speed for such a big guy and holy fuck,
that killer instinct is shocking!
If Cormier lifted instead of wrestled
āI was hoping to get back in there right around this time,ā Porter said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. āThen, after talking with my manager and stuff, the UFC is supposed to come back to Boston in August so that is what we were looking at cause thatās about as close to a hometown fight as I can get. Then, we got the call to jump on this May 6 card in New Jersey and I was like āabsolutely, letās do it.'ā
Once Porter was ready to take a fight, he wasnāt sure what would be next but was open to facing anyone. Although he has fought six times in the UFC, he is taking on UFC newcomer Braxton Smith at UFC 288, who he admits he didnāt know much about.
āI didnāt even know his name before the call and then I found out this was his debut fight,ā Porter said. āDoing my research on him, he has been on a tear since he came back. I donāt think he has fought anyone with my striking abilities and he hasnāt fought at the UFC level yet. Not to take anything from away the guys that stepped into the ring with him, but Iām not themā¦ We are going to have some fun in New Jersey and Iām going to show everyone the work I have done since the last fight.ā
As Parker Porter began to study Braxton Smith, the most obvious path to victory he saw was by taking it to the mat and extending the fight. He knows Smith is very dangerous early on, but Porter believes the longer the fight goes, the better it is for him, which will eventually lead to a stoppage win.
āI think that will be a big component in this fight. This guy seems to want to get things done as quickly as possible, comes forward and throws big bombs, and has big power,ā Porter said. āIf he canāt connect clean, if he gasses himself out, we are going to see what kind of power he has in the later rounds, if he can even keep his hands upā¦
āYou will see a lot of good boxing, he likes to come forward and pressures forward and throws big bombs, lots of big power shots. Iām going to be patient, pick my shots, and if the opportunity for a takedown presents itself, Iām going to be looking for that because we havenāt seen anything out of him for his ground game. But, if it goes to the floor I think I can get a submission or a ground-and-pound finish,ā Porter later added.
Not only is Porter looking to get back in the win column, but he is also fighting out his UFC deal which puts more pressure on him. But, heās confident he will be able to get the stoppage win at UFC 288 over Smith and return later this summer in Boston.
āThis is absolutely do-or-die. I try and look at every fight as do-or-die but this is even more so because itās the last fight on this contract so Iāll be fighting for a new contract, too. Iāll be just as hungry, if not more hungry as I was in the Parisian fight to not let any mistakes come my way,ā Porter concluded.
Huh. Seems like he could make for some interesting, exciting fights.
Plus heās an interesting character. As a lifelong horror aficionado myself it would be cool to have a chat with him & discuss our fav genre films.
TEEEEEEE
He gassed out quickly. I canāt recall anyone gassing out that fast. Porterās new āslimmerā aerodynamic body helped his head movement/footwork to avoid those big, winging shots.
If Cormier didnt have heart or a dedication to sports.
Heās gonna get cut
Gassed out in 2 minutes and quit as soon as it hit the groundā¦
Not B4 He Fights JonJones2
Yeah, that was a piss poor performance. And a pretty gutless one as well. He basically titled up & quit as soon as Porter took him down.
Iād still like to talk horror films with him but I never want to see him in the octagon again.