Louis Smolka – Syndication Server

Video: Davey Grant takes out Louis Smolka, makes case for fifth straight UFC bonus

Davey Grant has made a habit of putting on exciting performances of late, and he didn’t disappoint Saturday.

[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] has made a habit of putting on exciting performances of late, and he didn’t disappoint Saturday.

Grant came into UFC on ESPN 36 with four straight post-fight bonus awards – but the most recent two had been for Fight of the Night losses after back-to-back Performance of the Night finishes.

Saturday, though, Grant (12-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) took out [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] (17-9 MMA, 8-9 UFC) with what wound up being a vicious knockout 49 seconds into the third round. Grant had been hurting Smolka with leg kicks, and another one had his Hawaiian opponent limping, then slumping to the canvas.

Grant, from England, took advantage in a hurry. He followed Smolka tot he mat and hit him with a few punches, the latter of which connected right on the chin and put Smolka out.

Davey Grant woke up feeling DANGEROUS 💪 #UFCVegas54 pic.twitter.com/ijNFyXRanr

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 15, 2022

Grant got back in the win column after 2021 losses to Adrian Yanez and Marlon Vera. Smolka’s loss was his second straight – and second straight by knockout after going his entire career without being put away with punches.

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Photos: UFC on ESPN 36 weigh-ins and faceoffs

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 36 official weigh-ins and faceoffs in Las Vegas.

Check out these photos of the UFC on ESPN 36 official weigh-ins and faceoffs at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. (Photos by Ken Hathaway, MMA Junkie)

Louis Smolka forgot Joe Rogan’s advice before first knockout loss, but: ‘You can’t be sad forever’

Louis Smolka was doing plenty of things right against Vince Morales this past December.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] was doing plenty of things right against Vince Morales this past December.

A couple minutes into the second round, Smolka landed a left, then a couple knees to the body. But then everything went south in the blink of an eye. Morales went from covering up his midsection from the knees to a winging right hand, and it landed. It put Smolka on the canvas, and an instant later, he had the first knockout loss of his career.

The setback had Smolka down for the proverbial count after the fight, and then he realized he had to get back on the horse and move on.

“I mean, I was going to get knocked out eventually, right?” Smolka said at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 36 media day. “You’re going to keep doing this until you retire, everything and anything is going to happen to you. That’s just how I tried to deal with it. I’m not putting too much weight into it. I feel good.

“I was sad, though. I was incredibly disappointed. You work so hard at something for so long and try to do everything possible, and then to have it all taken away from you when it’s all going so well, it’s pretty rough. It sucks. I was sad. But you’ve got to get over it. You can’t be sad forever. So I take a week or two and cry and eat ice cream and then I’ll be back.”

Saturday, Smolka (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) returns in a bantamweight bout on the UFC on ESPN 36 main card against Davey Grant (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC). And he may be taking some words from UFC commentator Joe Rogan to heart.

“Joe Rogan has said forever, ‘Anything can happen in this sport.’ Truly, anything can happen at any given time, and maybe that’s something I forgot for a little bit.”

UFC on ESPN 36 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

Check out the full pre-fight interview with Smolka in the video above.

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UFC on ESPN 36 predictions: Can ex-champ Jan Blachowicz get back on track vs. Aleksandar Rakic?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC on ESPN 36 main card in Las Vegas, featuring ex-champ Jan Blachowicz vs. Aleksandar Rakic.

	Blachowicz vs. Rakic	Cutelaba vs. Spann	Grant vs. Smolka	Chookagian vs. Ribas	Camacho vs. Torres	Hadley vs. Nascimento
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 79-38	Blachowicz (56%)	Spann (53%)	Grant (80%)	Ribas (52%)	Torres (73%)	Hadley (81%)
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 78-40	Blachowicz	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway 77-41 2018 Champion	Rakic	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 76-42 2014 Champion	Rakic	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Matt Erickson @MMAjunkieMatt 76-42	Rakic	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Camacho	Hadley
Simon Samano @SJSamano 75-43	Rakic	Spann	Smolka	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 74-44	Blachowicz	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Nolan King @mma_kings 74-44	Rakic	Cutelaba	Smolka	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Brian Garcia @thegoze 73-45 2017 Champion	Rakic	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 72-46	Rakic	Cutelaba	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 68-50	Rakic	Spann	Grant	Chookagian	Torres	Hadley
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 59-59	Blachowicz	Spann	Smolka	Ribas	Torres	Hadley

The UFC is back in its Las Vegas home base this week with a former champion at the top of the bill.

UFC on ESPN 36 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on ESPN2 and streams on ESPN+ following prelims on ESPN2/ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, former light heavyweight champ [autotag]Jan Blachowicz[/autotag] (28-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) takes on [autotag]Aleksandar Rakic[/autotag] (14-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC). Rakic is a 2-1 favorite at Tipico Sportsbook; the comeback on Blachowicz is +150. Our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers are taking Rakic at a pretty high 8-3 clip.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag] (16-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) meets [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] (19-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in another light heavyweight bout. Cutelaba is a -240 favorite, but it’s underdog Spann with a big 9-2 picks lead.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC will go after his fifth straight post-fight bonus award when he takes on [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) at bantamweight. Grant is more than a 3-1 favorite and has a big 8-3 edge in the picks from our staff members.

Former women’s flyweight title challenger [autotag]Katlyn Chookagian[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) will go after her fourth straight win when she meets [autotag]Amanda Ribas[/autotag] (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC). Chookagian nearly is a 2-1 favorite and only one of our pickers is taking Ribas in an upset.

[autotag]Frank Camacho[/autotag] (22-9 MMA, 2-5 UFC) returns after a hiatus of nearly two years to take on [autotag]Manuel Torres[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at lightweight. Torres is a modest -130 favorite – the smallest favorite on the main card. But he’s a near-unanimous pick at 11-1.

And to open the main card, we have our only unanimous pick: -230 favorite [autotag]Jake Hadley[/autotag] (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is an 11-0 pick against [autotag]Allan Nascimento[/autotag] (18-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their flyweight bout.

In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Blachowicz (56 percent), Spann (53 percent), Grant (80 percent), Ribas (52 percent), Torres (73 percent) and Hadley (81 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

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Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka joins UFC’s May 14 lineup

A new bantamweight bout has joined the lineup for the UFC’s May 14 card.

[autotag]Davey Grant[/autotag] (11-6 MMA, 4-5 UFC) is set to take on [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) at the Fight Night event. Promotion officials announced the new booking Thursday. Although the event doesn’t have an announced location or venue, it’s likely to take place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas with a broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.

Grant will be looking to snap a two-fight skid when he steps in the cage. After a three-fight winning streak that included back-to-back $50,000 bonuses for knockouts of Martin Day and Jonathan Martinez, Grant ran into a pair of bumps in the road.

The 36-year-old Brit dropped a unanimous decision to Marlon Vera in June 2021. Then this past November, he lost a split call to Adrian Yanez for his first skid in three years.

Smolka needs to rebound, as well. In December, he was knocked out by Vince Morales in the first round. That continued his up-and-down run that has seen him alternate wins and losses for six straight fights. Smolka, from Hawaii, returned to the UFC in 2018 on a three-fight winning streak and submitted Mudaerji Su in the second round. All three of his wins since coming back to the UFC have been by stoppage – but all three of his losses since his return have been first-round finishes.

With the addition, the UFC’s May 14 lineup now includes:

Ion Cutelaba vs. Ryan Spann
Viviane Araujo vs. Andrea Lee
Frank Camacho vs. Manuel Torres
Jamall Emmers vs. Daniel Pineda
Angela Hill vs. Virna Jandiroba
Nick Maximov vs. Andre Petroski
Jake Hadley vs. Allan Nascimento
Davey Grant vs. Louis Smolka

UFC on ESPN 31 video: Vince Morales becomes first to knock out Louis Smolka

Louis Smolka’s streak of avoiding the knockout came to an end at UFC on ESPN 31 courtesy of Vince Morales.

[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag]’s streak of avoiding the knockout came to an end Saturday at UFC on ESPN 31 courtesy of [autotag]Vince Morales[/autotag].

Morales (11-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC) scored a violent first-round finish of Smolka (17-8 MMA, 8-8 UFC) in their bantamweight matchup, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

As Smolka tried to attack with knees in the clinch, Morales loaded up on a counter left hand that dropped him and put the lights out for the stoppage at the 2:02 mark of Round 1.

Check out the replay below (via Twitter):

That's how you start the show! 😳@Vandetta135 gets the finish in RD 1️⃣! #UFCVegas44 pic.twitter.com/6asiBa5Qte

— UFC (@ufc) December 5, 2021

'Vandetta' showing off that 135 power 🙌 #UFCVegas44 pic.twitter.com/fKZS8YwUbp

— UFC (@ufc) December 5, 2021

With back-to-back wins in the octagon for the first time, Morales said he wants a step up next time he enters the octagon.

“It’s my first knockout in the UFC,” Morales said in his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “It feels good man. I’d love to get on that London card (in March), I’ve never been to London. I heard Nathaniel Wood needs an opponent”

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UFC on ESPN 31 pre-event facts: Rob Font, Jose Aldo battle for more accolades

The best facts and figures about UFC on ESPN 31, which features a Rob Font vs. Jose Aldo main event.

The UFC kicks off its final stretch of 2021 events Saturday with UFC on ESPN 31, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on ESPN.

A very important fight in the bantamweight division serves as the main event of the card. [autotag]Rob Font[/autotag] (19-4 MMA, 9-3 UFC) will attempt to keep his winning streak alive in pursuit of a title shot when he takes on former longtime featherweight king [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] (30-7 MMA, 12-6 UFC), who continues chase a second belt at 135 pounds.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for 45 pre-event facts about UFC on ESPN 31.

Sean O’Malley needs new UFC 264 opponent after Louis Smolka withdraws

“The Suga Show” is without an opponent less than two weeks out from fight night.

“The Suga Show” is in need of a new opponent.

[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] is out of UFC 264, which means [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] awaits a new matchup ahead of the July 10 pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed Smolka’s withdrawal on Tuesday after an initial report by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. The person asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

In his most recent outing, O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) rebounded from an August 2020 TKO loss to Marlon Vera. Against former bantamweight contender Thomas Almeida, O’Malley added another highlight reel knockout to his resume.

Smolka (17-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) has gone 3-2 since he returned to the UFC in 2018. He most recently competed in December when he finished Jose Quinonez by second-round TKO.

With Smolka’s withdrawal, the updated UFC 264 lineup includes:

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
Greg Hardy vs. Tai Tuivasa
Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya
Sean O’Malley vs. TBA
Carlos Condit vs. Max Griffin
Michel Pereira vs. Niko Price
Jessica Eye vs. Jennifer Maia
Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria
Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares
Jerome Rivera vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Trevin Giles
Alen Amedovski vs. Hu Yaozong

Sean O’Malley vs. Louis Smolka added to UFC 264 in Las Vegas

A bantamweight bout between Sean O’Malley and Louis Smolka had been added to UFC 264.

A bantamweight bout between [autotag]Sean O’Malley[/autotag] and [autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag] had been added to July’s UFC 264 lineup.

MMA Junkie verified with a person close to the situation that verbal agreements between O’Malley (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Smolka (17-7 MMA, 8-7 UFC) are in place following an initial report from Fight Game Media. The person requested anonymity because UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

UFC 264 takes place July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims that are expected to air on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.

O’Malley, 26, successfully rebounded from his first career loss against Marlon Vera with a thrilling third-round knockout of Thomas Almeida at UFC 260 in March.

Smolka, meanwhile, is coming off a TKO of Jose Quinonez at UFC on ESPN 19 in December. He’s 3-2 since coming back to the promotion for a second stint a little more than two years ago.

The latest UFC 264 lineup now includes:

Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor
Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
Jessica Eye vs. Jennifer Maia
Ryan Hall vs. Ilia Topuria
Omari Akhmedov vs. Brad Tavares
Jerome Rivera vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
Greg Hardy vs. Tai Tuivasa
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Trevin Giles
Sean O’Malley vs. Louis Smolka

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UFC on ESPN 19 medical suspensions: Jack Hermansson, Jamahal Hill facing six months

Five fighters face potential six-month layoffs following UFC on ESPN 19.

[autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] heads a list of five fighters facing potential six-month suspensions after their respective bouts at UFC on ESPN 19, per commission records.

Hermansson (21-6 MMA, 8-4 UFC), who lost a unanimous decision to short-notice replacement [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC), was given a 180-day term after suffering a fractured left orbital bone during the night’s main event.

Co-headliner [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC), who picked up his biggest win to date with a second-round finish of [autotag]Ovince Saint Preux[/autotag] (25-15 MMA, 13-10 UFC), requires his left hand to be cleared by a doctor or he may also face a 180-day suspension.

MMA Junkie obtained the full list of medical suspensions from MixedMartialArts.com for UFC on ESPN 19, which took place this past Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Other fighters facing possible six-month medical suspensions include [autotag]John Allan[/autotag], [autotag]Damon Jackson[/autotag], and [autotag]Jake Collier[/autotag].

The full list of UFC on ESPN 19 medical suspensions includes:

Jack Hermansson: Suspended 180 days or until fractured left orbital is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
Marvin Vettori: Suspended 45 days or until cut to left eyelid is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days.
Ovince Saint Preux: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
Jamahal Hill: Needs clearance of left hand with x-ray, otherwise suspended 180 days.
[autotag]Gabriel Benitez[/autotag]: Suspended 14 days with 7 days no contact.
[autotag]Justin Jaynes[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: No suspension.
John Allan: Needs clearance of right knee with MRI and right ankle with x-ray, otherwise suspended 180 days. Suspended minimum 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Matt Wiman[/autotag]: Suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact.
[autotag]Jordan Leavitt[/autotag]: No suspension.
[autotag]Louis Smolka[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with no contact for 21 days due to cut on right eyebrow.
[autotag]Jose Quinonez[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact.
[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: No suspension.
Damon Jackson: Suspended 180 days or until possible nasal fracture is cleared by a doctor; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.
[autotag]Gian Villante[/autotag]: Suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to contusions.
Jake Collier: Suspended 180 days or until possible non-displaced fracture of left lateral orbital wall is cleared by an ophthalmologist; also suspended 60 days with no contact for 45 days.

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