Las Vegas — Elijah Smith made a little bit of history at UFC Vegas 102 on Saturday, becoming just the second second-gen UFC fighter.
Smith’s no-doubt proud pop, Gilbert Smith, featured on The Ultimate Fighter 17 and fought once for the promotion, on the TUF 17 finale. Elijah, who won his way into the company via Dana White’s Contender Series next year, joins Randy and Ryan Couture as the only father-son duos to have fought in the UFC.
He also showed considerable poise in his fight with Vince Morales at UFC Vegas 102, overcoming a nasty low blow early, and proving he could be patient even when blood was in the water. That, and his ability to listen to his corner, he chalks up to his stint on DWCS.
“I think that really came down to the Contender Series. The Contender Series was such a crazy scramble on short notice. I think this time around, we definitely game-planned the perfect game plan. And we went over some code words and things just to make sure that when we came into this fight we were successful,” Smith (8-1) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “I always felt like I was always really good at being coachable whether it was my pops or somebody else. Just being coachable, I learned that at a young age playing football, wrestling. The best athletes are the ones that are able to be coached.”
With a decision win over Morales in his debut, Elijah Smith is now looking ahead to what he hopes will be an active 2025, one that will give him an opportunity to show his true self as a fighter.
“2025 I want to at least get two more fights. I’ve always been a pretty much active fighter if I don’t have any injuries. And I feel like I don’t have any injuries; you know soreness, bumps and bruises, whatever,” he stated. “I want to go out there and show everybody Elijah ‘Swift’ Smith. I feel like I haven’t shown that yet, even though this is my debut.”
“I want to show Elijah ‘Swift’ Smith, and what that means is, I want to go out there and get a finish.”
Of course, finishes aren’t something you can force, and the 22-year old bantamweight is clearly aware of that. “When it comes down to finishes, I try not to look for the finish, I want it to come to me naturally. Because if we’re standing in the fight looking, looking, looking for the finish, the finish will never come. So you have to let that finish come to you naturally,” he noted. “And I think just being in the UFC, guys are a lot tougher, a lot more durable. So finding the finish in the UFC, it’s hard. Which is why they want to find guys on the regional scene who have finishes, because if you get finishes on the regional scene, they see it as if you can do it in the UFC. And I want to be able to show the world and show Dana White that Elijah Smith can go out there and get a finish.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 102 post-fight appearance by Elijah Smith above.
