Smith (5-2), a.k.a. “The Beautiful Monster,” was finished via ground n’ pound by Parker Porter at UFC 288 in New Jersey. As it turns out, he also failed multiple drug tests both in and out of competition that now have him iced for a two-year period.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, who administer the UFC’s Anti-Doping Policy (ADP), announced the news on Tuesday.

Smith’s failed drug tests, which occurred on April 19, May 4, and May 6, 2023 (the latter coming in-competition on the night of the event) saw him test positive for the exogenous administration of testosterone and/or its precursors.

Per a press release, “Smith’s urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio (CIR) testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin. The CIR test confirmed the presence of testosterone and/or its metabolites of external origin in Smith’s urine sample.”

Because the results of Smith’s earlier tests were not returned by the night of the fight, the violations have been grouped into a single incident. As an incoming fighter making his promotional debut at UFC 288, Smith was afforded the opportunity to declare any usage of substances banned under the UFC ADP over the past twelve months, which would then not have been treated as a violation, but would have required two negative tests and removal from competition for at least six months.

Smith did not make any such declarations. His suspension dates back to May 6, 2023; the case also falls under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission, who will resolve the matter separately.

Prior to joining the UFC, Braxton Smith had won five straight fights, capturing the Peak Fighting heavyweight title. All five of those wins came in a period of less than twelve months from May 2022 to March 2023. Prior to that, Smith had not fought since a 2014 loss against Chase Sherman.

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Smith, who made his debut in 2014, a loss to Chase Sherman, took the next eight years off — and that is not a typo. The passing of his mother saw him stray from the sport, while the birth of his daughter brought him back. After five wins in 2022, Smith faced an opponent in Porter who was coming in hungry, on a two-fight skid and potentially looking to save his spot on the roster.

Smith came out with a big right hand that barely missed Porter. Then he exploded forward with a looping right-left and barely clipper Porter with the left. Smith wanted that dog fight and he got it for a few seconds. Just a minute into the fight, however, Smith was already gassed. That was a bad sign. Smith shot in for a bad takedown following a knee to the body, and Smith easily sprawled and got top position. Porter mounted Smith landing ground and pound and Smith wasn’t moving. Porter avoided the big shots and took Smith out, spoiling his debut.

Big finish, bigger celebration from @Parker_Porter 🔥 #UFC288 pic.twitter.com/PpgJ2QIIMt

— UFC (@ufc) May 6, 2023

Following the fight, an emotional Parker Porter said that his wife and mother were in the building for the first time in his UFC career. He also revealed he’d received his black belt in BJJ in December, making the ground game a focus ahead of UFC 288.

Official Result: Parker Porter def. Braxton Smith by TKO (ground and pound), Round 1, 2:10

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Braxton “The Beautiful Monster” Smith
Standing at five-foot-eleven
Fighting at 265 lbs (heavyweight)
33-years-old
Fighting out of Austin, Texas, US
Training out of Black Sheep Boxing
A pro record of 5-1
5 KO/TKOs

How will Smith fare in the UFC:

Smith’s only loss was his pro debut to UFC’s Chase Sherman. That was all the way back in 2014. He didn’t fight again until May of last year. So, Smith didn’t fight in over seven years. Smith has been on the tear since returning. Smith recently won the Peak Fighting heavyweight championship last March.

Smith doesn’t have the ideal heavyweight size at just five-foot-eleven. He does have heavyweight power knocking guys clean out that are much bigger than him. Being so small for his weight class it is much harder for him to find his range. He hasn’t had any issues yet but it’s going to happen eventually. Powering forwards swinging bombs isn’t always going to work at his size.

It’s hard to tell how good Smith is. He is 33 and has yet to fight for over two and a half minutes. If an undersized older guy is going to excel however, it’s going to be at heavyweight. Even saying that Smith may be jacked but he will get thrown around and struggle to close the distance. He’s only taller than Ilir Latifi in the division so he’s going to be at a huge disadvantage to start.

How he matches up with Parker Porter:

Looking at the two you would think Smith washes Porter but it’s a closer fight. Porter is coming off two losses and got knocked out in his last fight. Smith will have a big advantage with speed and explosiveness. If Smith doesn’t run through Porter he will be in trouble whereas Porter fights well late in the fight.

Porter is also usually durable, being able to take a punch, so getting put away by Tafa is concerning. There are a lot more concerns with Porter. He’s on a losing streak, he just got knocked out, is older at 38, and lacks the speed and power to keep up. It all depends on if he can handle the early heat Smith brings. I have to side with Porter just because I think he can survive a few minutes and take over. It’s a closer fight than most people think.

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It’s a reasonable question given the relatively short record of the newcomer. He has just six professional fights – five of which have taken place in the last twelve months. Nearly all of those fights were for Peak Fighting, for whom he is the first UFC graduate. All of those five recent fights also ended in less than half of a round.

However, if you dig to that lone loss, you’ll find the one fight that wasn’t a win and wasn’t in the last year. That fight was a 2014 loss to UFC veteran Chase Sherman, after which he disappeared from the cage for over 8 years.

“After that fight, I shouldn’t have lost that fight by the way, but after that fight, I kind of got away from the sport,” Smith explained. “My mom got me into it and when my mom passed I was kind of like ‘ah, I don’t want to do it.”

So after the passing of his mother, not only did he walk away from the sport, but his life also changed in a number of other ways as well. He left home and went in search of new experiences.

“I left Alabama and moved to Austin, Texas and was just discovering some new things – trying to figure out what I wanted to do in life, who I wanted to be. I started playing semi-pro football. I wound up signing a professional Arena contract to go play football,” he said. “I was basically just playing football, flag football and lifting weights – just meeting people and seeing the world for what it really was.”

While he enjoyed his stint in football and the people he met along the way, something was missing. Deep down, Braxton Smith always knew he’d come back to fighting. However, it took another major turn in his life to get back to a space where he was ready.

“I always knew I wanted to get back to fighting,” Smith said. “But it’s just not the right time. I kept pushing it off and didn’t really care about fighting any more until I had my little girl and got engaged. That changed me.”

With his new life, ‘The Beautiful Monster’ started looking to the future. He started mapping out where he wanted his life to go and got focused on making it a reality.

“I got a vision board and said ‘you know what – I’m going to be undefeated with all knockouts and I’m going to sign with a regional promotion and win a regional title. Then I’m going to sign with the UFC or Bellator or ONE Fighting’,” he recalled. “I wrote it all down, man. I gave myself two and a half years and I did it in less than a year.”

Just short of 12 months after he was reintroduced to the MMA world in the form of a devestating head kick, Smith has achieved his goal. He’ll make his UFC debut this Saturday at UFC 288 where he’ll take on Parker Porter. That fight will take place on the ESPN+ prelims starting at 6pm EST.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 1:17.

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Braxton Smith Interview (1:17)

Kicking off this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC heavyweight, Braxton Smith. Smith discusses his road to MMA, which started years ago with a professional debut against Chase Sherman, but then took an extended hiatus. He discusses why that is and shares some details of his career as a professional football player in between stints. He also talks about how his mom was the catalyst for his return and why he’s here with an opportunity in the UFC right now. And, of couse, we’re chatting about the matchup with savvy veteran Parker Porter at UFC 288.

Fights, Dogs, and Parlays: UFC 288 (17:20)

Following another event at the Apex, the UFC is on the road in New Jersey. UFC 288 takes place from the Prudential Center and features a banger of a main event. The bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling will look to defend his belt against former double champion, Henry Cejudo. We’ll break down that fight as well as some of our other favorite fights on this main card. Plus, we’re also digging deep into the card to give you an underdog and a parlay that we think will make your wallet fat this upcoming Saturday. For this segment, all odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Johnny Munoz Jr. Interview (27:47)

Closing out this edition of TTP is our interview with UFC bantamweight, Johnny Munoz Jr. Munoz discusses changing things up a bit in training camp, which includes honing his muay thai skills and travelling to get that work in. Plus, he talks about working to never be comfortable, even with the shiny new four-fight contract that he now has. He’ll get the first fight on that contract this weekend at UFC 288. In the opening bout of the night, Munoz will take on Daniel Santos. He’ll also be breaking down all the finer points of that exciting matchup.

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