Maurice Smith to be inducted into UFC Hall of Fame
Maurice Smith: “When I went into the UFC, I had been fighting since 1980, so I had been fighting for a very long time.”
The UFC recently announced that Maurice Smith will join the previously announced Urijah Faber, and well as two other figures to be named, in being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame during International Fight Week in Las Vegas. Smith’s contributions are hard to underestimate. Royce Gracie proved that Jiu-Jitsu worked in MMA. Dan Severn and Mark Coleman proved that wrestling works. And Mo Smith proved that striking works. As such, he is a leg of a stool upon which the entire sport was built.
I didn’t know what the criteria was initially, so I was quite surprised, said Smith to UFC.com. But it’s a nice compliment to me. I accept it and I appreciate it.
Smith made his UFC debut on July 27, 1997 at UFC 14 vs. Mark Coleman. Kickboxing since 1980, it was Smith’s 13th MMA fight, and he won the UFC heavyweight championship. He was 35.
It was just another fight company, said Smith. I looked at everything in very simple terms. Companies were competing for fighters, and that’s how I looked at it. When I went into the UFC, I had been fighting since 1980, so I had been fighting for a very long time. So I wasn’t nervous, I was just focused on the fight.
He was just another fighter. But (coach and former UFC champion) Frank (Shamrock) had a good idea. We all agreed that most of these guys, including myself, were one-facet fighters. So the facet of wrestling is not designed to go long-term at a high pace. And the thing about kickboxing is, you’ve got to have stamina and be able to recover and accept getting hit and not freak out. So we figured he was gonna come out gangbusters and he fought me with pure emotion.
it worked – Smith won. And a new era had begun. If you had sufficient conditioning, striking was an excellent base for MMA.
It was all about conditioning, and if I’m on my feet, nobody should beat me on my feet, said Smith. No MMA fighter should be able to beat any high-end kickboxer on their feet. Wrestling or grappling is another ballgame, but no one could outstrike me in MMA on the feet. So we just trained hard. Train hard, stay focused, and be the best you can be. And if the best you can be puts you in the position where you’re the best fighter, then you have to train. If you’re in shape and know how to play the game, it doesn’t matter if it’s 15-minute rounds or five-minute rounds. If you train properly, you’ll be okay.
We just trained hard and we were very serious about what we did. We were very dedicated to training when we got to a certain level of notoriety. It goes from Ken, but Frank is the one who helped me become an MMA fighter.
Smith fought last in 2013, and turns 56 in December but is still game to fight if the right opportunity presents.
Sure, why not, he said. All I need is time to train.
