Devonte Smith (born July 30, 1993) 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, incorpo ...

who 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 ...

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 ...

Background

Smith started training mixed martial arts around the age of 14 after seeing

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

fight in

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) w ...

. He attended Bedford High School where he wrestled every year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After compiling an amateur record of 7–2–1, Smith started his professional MMA career in 2015 and fought primarily in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He amassed a record of 7–1 before competing in

Dana White's Contender Series Dana White's Contender Series, formerly named Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, is an American mixed martial arts promotion. In May 2017, the UFC announced White would hold the competition weekly on UFC Fight Pass (It has since been move ...

web-series program.

Dana White's Contender Series

Smith appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 16 on August 7, 2018, facing Joseph Lowry. He won the fight via knockout in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Smith made his UFC debut on November 10, 2018, against

Julian Erosa Julian Ricardo Dulican Erosa (born July 31, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Erosa is also a former CageSport Featherweight and Lightweight Champ ...

at UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez. He won the fight via knockout in round one. His next fight came on February 9, 2019, at

UFC 234 ''UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 10, 2019 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship b ...

against

Dong Hyun Ma Kim Dong-hyun ( ko, 김동현, 金東炫; born September 9, 1988), anglicized as Dong Hyun Kim, also known as "The Maestro", is a South Korean mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the UFC's lightweight division. At the turn of 20 ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. The win earned him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' bonus. Smith was scheduled to face

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

on August 17, 2019, at

UFC 241 ''UFC 241: Cormier vs. Miocic 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 17, 2019 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship rematch betw ...

. However, it was reported on July 30 that Makdessi was forced to withdraw for undisclosed reasons. Returning veteran

Clay Collard Clay Collard (born March 10, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer. A professional since 2011, he formerly competed for the UFC. He currently competes in the lightweight division of the Professional Fighters League. ...

was briefly linked as the replacement. In turn, Collard was removed from the bout during the week leading up to the event due to an undisclosed medical issue and he was replaced by promotional newcomer

Khama Worthy Khama Worthy (born October 15, 1986) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2012, he has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), King of the Cage and CES MMA. Backgr ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Smith was expected to face

Alex da Silva Coelho Alex da Silva Coelho (born February 4, 1996) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2014, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts car ...

on February 6, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Coelho pulled out due to undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by

Justin Jaynes Justin Michael Jaynes (born August 10, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions. A professional since 2008, he most notably competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He i ...

. Smith won the fight via technical knockout in round two. Smith faced

Jamie Mullarkey Jamie Mullarkey (born 17 August 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Mullarkey grew up in Central Coast area, attending Erina High School. He beg ...

on October 2, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 193 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 193'', ''UFC Vegas 38'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 51'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 2, 2021 at the UFC ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. Smith was scheduled to face Erick Gonzalez on March 5, 2022, at

UFC 272 ''UFC 272: Covington vs. Masvidal'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 5, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. ...

. However, Gonzalez was forced to withdraw from the event due to foot injuries and was replaced by

Ľudovít Klein Ľudovít Klein (born February 22, 1995) is a Slovak mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Ľudovít Klein was born in Nové Zámky, where he also started his sports care ...

. Smith lost the fight via split decision. In May 2022, it was reported that Smith was released by the UFC.

Personal life

While preparing for his fight against

, Smith's sister Dariene was killed by a stray bullet in Columbus, Ohio, on July 11, 2020.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Walker , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:51 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:38 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:53 ,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, KO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: The Korean Zombie vs. Rodríguez , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:46 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Joseph Lowry , KO (elbows) , Dana White's Contender Series 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Justin Edwards , KO (punches) , Iron Tiger Fight Series / Alliance MMA , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:30 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Nick Gehrts , TKO (punches) , V3 Fights 65 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 1:03 ,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Damonte Robinson , Submission (triangle choke) , IT Fight Series 74 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:54 ,

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , John Gunther , TKO (punches) , RFO: Big Guns 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:29 ,

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Xavier Nash , TKO (punches) , Pinnacle FC 14 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Cheswick, Pennsylvania Cheswick is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,672 as of the 2020 census.https://data.census.gov/all?q=Cheswick+borough,+Allegheny+County,+Pennsylvania History Cheswick, named for a town in England, is a small tow ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Fred Stonehouse , KO (punches) , GOTC MMA 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Mike Wiseman , TKO (punches) , Caged Madness 40 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:42 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , John Mosley , TKO (punches) , Caged Madness 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:29 ,

, United States , , -

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Devonte 1993 births Living people Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Cleveland Mixed martial artists from Ohio American male mixed martial artists American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters