Outside Source
Elijah Smith is turning heads early in his UFC career. | Getty/UFC
One-time UFC veteran Gilbert Smith doesn’t want his son Elijah Smith to rush his Octagon career.
Elijah shot to overnight stardom with a slam knockout of Toshiomi Kazama at UFC Vegas 109 that earned him a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. However, Gilbert isn’t looking for high caliber matchups for his son just yet. Gilbert revealed that since this is Elijah’s first UFC contract, it is not the most lucrative financially. Gilbert doesn’t want his 22-year-old son to risk fighting lethal opponents for a meager sum.
“The fight has to match the pay,” Gilbert told MMAjunkie.com. “Right now we’re sitting at the first contract pay, which is relatively small. So we’re not looking to fight some killer and making pennies on it. Doesn’t really make sense. This is a sport but it’s also a business. Not just for the UFC, but also a business for us. We gotta make sense. We gotta fight guys on our level that makes sense with the pay that we’re getting.”
Elder Smith Lost Lone UFC Outing
Smith made his only UFC appearance at the “The Ultimate Fighter 17” finale against Bubba McDaniel in 2013, suffering a submission loss. He fought for a number of organizations in the ensuing years — including a two-bout stint in Bellator MMA — before hanging up his gloves in 2017.
Meanwhile, Elijah earned his UFC contract with a win over Aaron Tau on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. “Swift” earned a decision win over veteran Vince Morales in his UFC debut before the slam knockout over Kazama.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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