Currently in his second run with the UFC, Louis Smolka was 2-2 to start the night against Jose Quinonez at UFC Vegas 16. The former flyweight, now competing as a bantamweight, was coming off a loss to Casey Kenney, while opponent Quinonez was looking to bounce back from his own loss to Sean O’Malley back in March.
For Smolka, the result was just what the doctor ordered. But it didn’t come easy.
Jose Quinonez opened the fight up with a leg kick and Smolka fired back with a right hand before the two clinched. Utilizing underhooks, Quinonez secured the take down but Smolka was quick to get back to his feet. From there, he landed a solid overhand punch followed by a body kick. Smolka fired off a front kick that Quinonez caught, which in turn sent Smolka to the mat. But once again Smolka sprung back to his feet. Which allowed him to later land a nice counter right — only for Quinonez to show his speed to get the angle and land a hard left hand. Smolka moved forward and looked for a 1-2 combination, but Quinonez dropped levels got the clinch and the take down. In what was quickly becoming a theme in the fight, Louis Smolka was once again quick to return to his feet. Quinonez pressed the pace, and Smolka fired off a leg kick. Quinonez answered with more movement and solid combinations, until Quinonez went for a knee that Smolka ate to land the take down. On the mat Smolka worked for position and Quinonez defended well to get back to his feet. A brief exchange and the horn sounded to end the round.
Smolka opened up round two with a right hand. Both men fired off a series of combinations and body kicks, until Quinonez secured the clinch and take down. Smolka however jumped on a guillotine that forced Quinonez to give up on the ground game for the moment. Back on their feet the two exchanged until Smolka got the take down, quickly moved to the mount and began to simply punish Quinonez. Quinonez gave up his back, but Smolka kept with the ground and pound, finally forcing the ref to jump in and end the action.
𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓.
⚔️ @LastSamuraiUFC UNLOADS on Quinonez for the RD 2 TKO!
[ Main card next on ESPN2 & #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/wQUiAOqIVq
— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2020
While Smolka improved to 3-2 in his current UFC run, it’s with noting that this time around, “Da Last Samurai” has all three wins via stoppage.
Official Result: Louis Smolka def. Jose Quinonez by TKO, Round 2, 2:15
