2012-04-06
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Jeff Smith After TUF (CageJunkies.com)

Editorial by Neil Rooke

To say that I was excited would be putting it lightly.

After months of supporting and doing my absolute best to let the world know about the talented Jeff Smith, the day would finally come where I would get to see him fight live on television in a bid to win his way into the UFC. Jeff won the fight. Well, not according to the judges but when you watch it again you can see clearly that he should have been the one going in to the house. It wasn’t to be however as he left the latest season of TUF Live with a lot to think about.

“Initially I was excited and nervous about going into the season” Jeff told me, “I was more or less prepared and anxious to have the fight of my career”. For those who are as naïve as me and didn’t really do too much research, the lead up to that first taping is a real eye opener to what goes on to make the series possible. I was legitimately surprised when Jeff explained it to me; “For the nine days leading up to the fight we were locked in our hotel rooms”. “We couldn’t really leave, only when the PR guys would come and get us for interviews or photo shoots or something. To get out of our rooms we had to ask the production guys. Being there for nine days makes it hard to prepare for the fight. In some of the other seasons the guys were only in there for two days.” Not making excuses though, Jeff kind of knew what he was in for. Those nine days he ate room service for all three meals and only trained twice a day, not the type of preparation you would think a fighter would have for a fight that could make or break his career but Jeff wasn’t worried. “I knew what was coming” he explained “this was the biggest fight of my career, I had to win.”

On the fight itself Jeff looks at it with two schools of thought; Sure, he didn’t walk out with a win but at the same time he didn’t get finished like some of the other fighters. “At the end of the day I still have nine professional wins with just one loss. All I need to do is get another couple of wins and I am sure the UFC will sign me at one-forty-five” Jeff exclaimed. “The thing that got me about that fight is that I didn’t fight to my potential. I am better than that. Hundreds of people said I should have won through my Twitter and I could just justify my performance with that but I know I can fight better and will next time.” The big question was how that loss felt, obviously losing any fight would suck but this was the big chance for all of Jeff’s hard work to pay off. On the loss he commented, “It was a disheartening loss. I thought I did more damage in the stand-up and I was certainly better on the ground, but it happens. I would love to fight him again with three rounds, I think I would really show what I can do and really things can only get better from here”.

That leaves the question open, what happens next?

“My manager is looking for me to fight in May. I won’t be doing any more local shows though, we are looking at a national level for the next fight. I am open to fight anywhere and would defiantly look at going overseas if the opportunity came up.” That willingness to fight is something that is going to pay off for Jeff who is eager to get back into the UFC spotlight. “I think that all the UFC hype got to me in that fight. I will be ready next time and will do what I know best. My corner kept telling me to shoot in the fight and that just wasn’t working. I should have stayed standing, I defiantly had the better stand up.” Many fans will chime in to say that Jeff won that fight (I certainly fall into this category) and although Jeff is thankful for the support of fans he knows what he needs to do to get back into the UFC and that is fight and win. “I want to thank everyone who supports me” Jeff stated, if you don’t already know, you can find him via Twitter (@jeffsmithmma) so be sure to show your support for a fighter that I believe will be the top of the Featherweight division in the next twelve months. As for Jeff’s opinion on getting back into the UFC?

“You will see me there sooner rather than later” he concluded. Many would assume that being on the latest season of TUF meant that the fighters got to speak with Dana after the fight about their chances of making a return to MMA’s premiere fight company, Jeff however revealed that this was far from the case. “The only real contact you got was from the TUF crew, nothing else was really guaranteed after the fight.” That makes Jeff’s quest all the more important, winning the next few fights is going to be critical if he wants to see himself get that shot at the big time again. He has the talent, he has the drive and now all he needs is the opportunity for a second chance.

Taking that first step into the mainstream MMA market is always the important one and now that he has “mainstream appeal” so to speak, it’s just a matter of getting back on the radar. Although Jeff failed to get a victory, he did not fail to impress fans all around the world. Watch this space because if 2012 isn’t Jeff Smith’s year 2013 certainly will be!
Neil Rooke writes at CageJunkies.com

 

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