RFA welterweight Gilbert Smith needed to win his next fight in June if he wanted to stay and be successful in the MMA industry this 2015. He needed to step up because he started the year with a defeat.
Gilbert Smith was able to beat Benjamin at the RFA 26 event by a third-round submission win. It’s not just the victory that he was able to get, Gilbert was also able to get the 170-pound title as well.
“It’s one of those things that people knew Ben was a good wrestler, a good grappler, so people said to keep it on the feet and not go on the ground, but I knew he wasn’t better than me, so I didn’t mind going to the ground and exchanging there. With that said, I was able to pull off the victory,” he said.
Gilbert Smith also admitted that he knew it would affect his career in a big way if he failed to get back to his feet after his loss last January.
“A second straight loss could have spelled disaster for me. I’m not getting any younger. I’m not going be in this game long losing fights; especially losing back-to-back title fights. If I’m not moving up and trying to get to the big show, then I’ll move on. I’m an educated person. I have other options. I’m not going to be one of those guys who is just fighting to fight and losing any given weekend. That’s not going to happen,” Gilbert Smith said.
Even though Gilbert Smith has a lot of other options outside MMA, he revealed that he is still has the drive to move forward with his career and he isn’t looking into retiring anytime soon.
“It’s that competitiveness. It’s that hunger to be something great. Plus, I hate working a 9-to-5 job, to be honest,” Smith said.
Smith, who has a record of 11-4, will be going up against another UFC veteran Bristol Marunde (16-9) this coming October 9th in Las Vegas. Gilbert Smith will be defending his RFA welterweight title for the first time.
“I don’t think too much about it. I just go out there and fight my fight and put pressure on him. I really feel like I’m the better athlete. I don’t think there any areas that he beats me on. He’s a tough dude, a durable dude, and comes from a tough camp, but at the end of the day I don’t think that’s going to do too much for him,” he said.
If ever Smith gets to win this fight, it will be his second straight win and a successful mixed martial arts title defense. He says that he feels this is the push that his career needs in order to bounce back from the losses that he had last year.
“Sometimes getting a decision can be just as bad as getting a loss. Nobody wants a boring fighter, especially the UFC. They want guys who go out and finish the fight by any means necessary. My goal is to go out there and make sure it doesn’t go five rounds and ends in my favor,” Smith said.