Contender Series alum Elijah Smith made his promotional debut at UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday opposite Vince Morales in a bantamweight fight, but that was only part of the story.
The DWCS veteran was also just the second second-generation UFC fighter in promotion history. Smith’s father, Gilbert, had appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 17, the Jon Jones-Chael Sonnen season that saw stars like Kelvin Gastelum and Uriah Hall emerge. The elder Smith had last competed in MMA in 2017, earning a win under the LFA banner; he’d fought once for the UFC, losing to Bubba McDaniel at the TUF 17 finale.
Win or lose on Saturday, Smith was likely to surpass his father in terms of number of fights for the promotion. And the pair joined Randy and Ryan Couture in the history books as the second father-son duo to fight for the company.
Smith found himself on the outside early in Saturday’s preliminary card fight, with Morales pressing. Unfortunately, the first significant strike to land was a low blow that left Elijah Smith writhing in pain on the canvas. After taking several minutes to recover, Smith was ready to go, and the action got back underway. He circled on the outside, back to the cage, while Morales hunted, only for an eye poke to halt the action. This time, it was Morales who was the victim. After being checked over by the doc, Morales was cleared to continue and the fight got back underway. Smith found some success with his hands, and late in the round, changed levels and landed a late takedown, with Morales attempting an awkward guillotine in response.
Round two once again found Smith with his back to the fence; Morales closed the distance, tied things up, dropped for a level change then scooped Smith up. Rather than immediately finishing the takedown with a slam he actually carried Smith over to his corner and dropped him there, hard. But in a scramble, it was Smith threatening with a rear-naked choke. Morales was able to prevent Smith from getting hooks in, and with Smith at an angle he couldn’t finish the choke. Morales reversed for a bit but Smith would scramble, nearly reverse, and get to his feet. Morales, however, got him back down and latched on with a D’arce choke. It wasn’t in initially, but after some adjustments, Smith was in trouble. He gutted it out however, finding some space and finally pulling his head free.
If nothing else, Elijah Smith displayed grace under pressure that belied his 22 years. Morales, however, went after the choke again as Smith got to his feet. This time, he shifted to a Japanese neck tie, but didn’t have it. What he did have was the round, more than likely.
With five minutes to go and the fight up for grabs, Morales held center early in the third, with the opening mimicking the first two rounds. Smith, however, worked his way off the cage as the pair exchanged fire. Smith, in addition to fast hands, was mixing in kicks; the pair tied up 90 seconds in, with Morales initiating put Smith reversing. He caught Morales with an uppercut, bloodying his nose and landing a takedown immediately after, though Morales wouldn’t stay grounded. Still, on the feet, it was Smith landing a left hand, and more leg kicks. Morales’s nose was a mess; he would look to set up another choke after a takedown attempt, but Smith was able to free himself. A pair of outside kicks followed by Smith doubling up on his jab saw Morales slowly tenderized. The blood on his face was matching his fiery red hair, and Morales was starting to look like a victim of Hannibal Lecter. Yet he had enough in him to try for one more choke, standing alongside the fence, before the final horn.
Official Result: Elijah Smith def. Vince Morales by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
