Louis Smolka is set to fight again inside the Octagon on Saturday, but it was a long road to get there.
It wasn’t that long ago when Smolka had lost four fights in a row and was cut by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It left him wondering if he should continue mixed martial arts or give up. He decided to pursue his passion and got three wins outside of the promotion and then got another chance which he wasn’t expecting.
“I was ready to give it all up,” Smolka said to Sherdog.com. “I was done, I was over it, I just wanted to quit. I lost so many fights and was like I’m done, I just want to drink, I’m over this. But, my fiancee wasn’t having any of it so she sent me to California to relocate and get my life back together. I quit drinking, so I gave it another run and did what I had to do and got the wins.”
Once he got the wins, his former promoter called him to fight at UFC Beijing in which “Da Last Samurai” knew it was must-win territory for him. “It was really important,” said the UFC veteran. “I was pretty sure if I didn’t win, I was going to be done, they were going to cut me. I worked really hard to get here like I put a lot into this sport. I’ve given my life to it. This is all I do, this is all I have done for 20 years of martial arts. It’s meant a lot to me to get that win. To continue to do what I love and make a living doing so.”
At UFC Wichita, Smolka is once again fighting at bantamweight and taking on Matt Schnell. It’s yet another important fight for “Da Last Samurai.” He doesn’t know where a win over Schnell will put him in the division, but now he must win regardless. “I’ll have to see how I look and feel,” he stated. “If I go out there and get a quick finish, so maybe but if it is a war maybe I’ll need one or two more fights.”
Just like his last fight, Smolka is fighting a former flyweight moving up. For him, given he is still getting his body adjusted to moving up in weight. “It’s pretty much the same but I get to eat more so I’m pretty happy about that,” said the bantamweight. “This point, I’m trying to get my lifts in and get bigger. I’m not trying to get huge and gain weight, I’m trying to gain muscle. If I wanted to I could get fat but I don’t think that will help, so I want to add lean muscle, like core muscle. It is going well, so I’m heavier this fight than last.”
Ultimately, he continues to fight flyweights at 135-pounds. He knows he can beat those fighters but won’t really know how good he is at bantamweight until he fights a tested opponent. “I’m fighting former flyweights who are moving up to bantamweights so for me it kind of has an asterisk next to it,” Smolka said about fighting in the division. “It isn’t really fighting bantamweights, so time will tell. I’m getting more comfortable at it but until I fight actual bantamweights [I won’t know for sure].”
Once he does indeed get to fight a real bantamweight, Smolka knows the pressure and nerves will be there. “I’ll be nervous, but it is fighting so we will figure it out,” he said. “I’m nervous for the test. I’m not scared of anything, but I want to win.”
Ultimately, come Saturday night, Smolka is ready for his fight. He has fought someone similar to Schnell and will use that to his advantage. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it looked like something when I fought Paddy. Two long lanky guys, I know he likes to strike,” Smolka said. “It’s gonna look, actually not really sure, it’s going to be two long lanky sticks fighting each other. It will be like something out of Lord of the Rings.”
For now, it is all about the final preparations as “Da Last Samurai” is gearing up for this fight. Although fighting his career of choice, he isn’t looking forward to stepping into the Octagon. “I don’t really look forward to fights, it is pretty nerve-wracking for me,” explained the fighter. “I am just hoping to go out there and win and make a good statement and show that I belong and get wins at a high level.”
The goal remains the same and that is to become a UFC champion. For Smolka, the path to gold continues on Saturday night in Wichita, Kansas.