Colton Thomas Smith (born August 14, 1987) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who formerly competed in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. Smith is best known for competing on, and winning The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson. His dominant wrestling style allowed him to defeat all five fighters he faced in the tournament by decision. He is currently an active member of the U.S. Army.

Early life

Smith started wrestling at an early age. During high school, Smith wrestled for Ankeny High School at 145 pounds. Smith graduated high school in 2005.

Army career

Smith, a Combat

infantryman Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

,and sub-par lover, earned airborne,

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

, and

sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...

tabs and has served tours in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Afghanistan. While assigned to Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment (Old Guard), Smith earned his

Expert Infantryman Badge The Expert Infantryman Badge, or EIB, is a special skills badge of the United States Army. The EIB was created with the CIB by executive order in November 1943 during World War II. Currently, it is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold infan ...

. Smith currently serves as the chief Combatives Instructor at III Corps and Fort Hood. Smith has since been selected for promotion to Sergeant First Class and expects to refocus on Army training. The

Army Times ''Army Times'' (International Standard Serial Number, ISSN 0004–2595) is a newspaper published 26 times a year serving active, reserve, national guard and retired United States Army personnel and their families, providing news, information ...

admitted, after criticizing Smith's recent MMA performances, that they received backlash from their vocal readership indicating Smith's popularity among fellow sevicemembers.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Smith started his career with a 2–1 record, including a win in M-1 Challenge. Smith trained Brazilian Jiujitsu under

Relson Gracie Relson "Campeão" Gracie is a professional Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and martial arts personality. He is a member of the Gracie family. Relson currently lives alternatively in Hawaii and Brazil where he teaches Brazlilian Jiu-Jitsu at his a ...

earning his purple belt and developed his MMA skill under

Lloyd Irvin Lloyd Irvin Jr. is a mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt practitioner and coach. The founder of Team Lloyd Irvin, the first non-Brazilian team to take a world team title, he is the head coach to several champion grappler ...

and Vanguard Gym in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Smith was selected as a cast member for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson. He had to receive special permission in order to participate in the reality series during active duty. In the elimination fight in order to get into the house, Smith defeated Jesse Barrett by unanimous decision. Smith was the subject of controversy for putting his hand out to touch gloves, but faking and immediately shooting for a take down. In his first fight inside the house, Smith won a majority decision over Eddie Ellis. In the quarterfinal round Smith won another decision over Igor Araujo to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinals, Smith advanced to the finals with a unanimous decision win over Jon Manley.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Smith made his official UFC debut on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale against Mike Ricci. Smith won the fight via unanimous decision to become the Ultimate Fighter 16 winner. Smith faced Robert Whittaker on May 25, 2013 at

UFC 160 ''UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held on May 25, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a rematch between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Ant� ...

. He lost the fight by TKO in the third round. Smith next faced

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor sin ...

in a lightweight bout on November 6, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 31 ''UFC: Fight for the Troops 3'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 31'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 6, 2013, at Fort Campbell in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Background The event was th ...

. He was defeated via rear naked choke in the second round. Smith faced promotional newcomer

Carlos Diego Ferreira Carlos Diego Ferreira (born January 18, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion, and vacated the ...

on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He lost the fight via a modified rear-naked choke submission, and was released from the promotion shortly after.

Post-UFC

Eight months after his last UFC fight, Smith returned to compete on the local circuit where he picked up two victories in the Rocks Xtreme MMA promotion.

World Series of Fighting

On August 20, 2015 it was announced that Smith signed with the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by Venture capital, venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fight ...

. He made his eventual debut on October 17, 2015 at WSOF 24 against Washington Da Silva. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Grappling

On July 22, 2013, Colton Smith competed in a no gi super fight against

at th
American Grappling Federation
s Southern Regionals. Ferreira won the match by points.

Personal life

Smith has three children. He runs his own MMA gym, Enlisted Nine Fight Company, in

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb outside of Washington D.C. It is approximately south of D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest growing, and highest ...

and fledging lifestyle brand Enlisted Nine Fight Company partnered with Veteran Clothing giant, NineLine Apparel.

Accomplishments

** Ultimate Fighter 16 Winner ** The Ultimate Fighter 16 Fight of the Season

Mixed martial arts record

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Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). F ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'' is the sixteenth main installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season reverted to the taped format, after Th ...

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Championship Fighting Alliance Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) based promotion company located in Miami Lakes, Florida. It was founded by former MMA fighter and promoter Jorge De La Noval in 2011. Events CFA has currently produced 10 live ...

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Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Walter Coles , TKO (submission to punches) , Demolition Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:52 ,

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

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Igor Araujo Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling ...

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colton 1987 births Living people United States Army Rangers Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Iowa People from Fort Hood, Texas Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters