Bryan Scott Smith (born May 21, 1979), is a retired American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2001, Smith was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback, and has competed for the UFC,

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

, EliteXC and PFC. He is the former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion.

Background

Smith was born in Reno, Nevada and raised in Elk Grove, California, attending Elk Grove High School where he competed in wrestling. Smith then continued his career in junior college where he placed in the California State Championship.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In the early half of his career, Smith fought as a

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

and compiled victories in the International Fighting Championships and Gladiator Challenge shows across the United States. While successful in the smaller promotions, Smith's first major appearance in the mixed martial arts world came in the World Extreme Cagefighting organization. Smith entered a WEC

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

tournament with limited name recognition, but was branded by experts as the

dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

of the competition. Smith defeated WEC veteran Tim McKenzie in the semi-finals. With that victory, Smith was slated to fight

Justin Levens Justin Robert Levens (April 18, 1980 – December 17, 2008) was an American mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2004 until 2007, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, the Palace Fighting Championship, and for the Southern Califor ...

in the tournament finals; Levens, however, was halted on doctor's advice due to a shoulder injury he sustained in his semi-final bout. The tournament alternate,

Tait Fletcher ''The Ultimate Fighter 3'' was the third season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. It premiered on April 6, 2006, immediately after the conclusion of '' Ultimate Fight Night 4''. The season featured sixte ...

, was brought into the championship round instead. Smith made short work of Fletcher, scoring a first-round technical knockout to become the WEC Light Heavyweight Champion. Smith would defend his championship from Justin Levens at ''WEC 18'' before scheduling a fight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in April 2006, moving down a weight class to fight David Terrell at ''

UFC 59 ''UFC 59: Reality Check'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 15, 2006 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada. This was th ...

''. The fight – marked with questionable officiating – ended in controversial fashion, prompting Smith to file a complaint with the California State Athletic Commission. The referee called for a break, which Smith adhered to but Terrell did not hear. When Smith stopped fighting, Terrell quickly locked in a rear naked choke, which the referee did not break. Smith was forced to tap out and protested immediately. Smith was then seen as a middleweight contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback, where he quickly lost his quarterfinal matchup against Travis Lutter. Smith appeared on the season finale, knocking out Pete Sell in the second round of a very exciting fight in a sequence that saw Smith sustain a hard punch to the liver, and throw the bout-winning knockout punch before falling to the ground in pain. Smith lost his next fight in the UFC by decision against Patrick Cote at ''

UFC 67 ''UFC 67: All or Nothing '' was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held Saturday, February 3, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. It was also the first UFC pay-pe ...

''

More recently, Smith defeated Troy Miller by technical knockout at ''Palace Fighting Championship 2'' in

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly, La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 2 ...

. He lost against Ed Herman at

UFC 72 ''UFC 72: Victory'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place Saturday, 16 June 2007 at The Odyssey in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Background ''UFC 72'' continued the UFC's expansion into Eu ...

. Herman submitted Smith with a rear naked choke at 2:25 in the second round after Herman landed a nasty elbow on Smith in the first round covering his face in blood.

EliteXC

Smith made his EliteXC debut on February 16 knocking out

Kyle Noke Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC. Background Noke, origina ...

seven seconds into round two. The victory earned him a title shot against Robbie Lawler. The bout was declared a no contest after an accidental poke in the eye in the third round. The first two rounds were so exciting that Gary Shaw awarded both fighters their win bonuses and announced an immediate rematch. Smith lost the subsequent rematch to Lawler via TKO on July 26, 2008, at EliteXC: Unfinished Business.

Strikeforce

At Strikeforce: Destruction, Smith took a fight with Terry Martin on one week's notice and defeated Martin via KO (punch) in the 1st round. Smith faced Benji Radach at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz on April 11, 2009. Smith defeated Radach by knocking him out in the third round. Radach had, for the majority of the fight, showcased his ability as the more refined striker, and was arguably heading toward a unanimous decision victory until Smith caught him with a flush straight right late on in round three and followed up with strikes to seal a dramatic victory. On June 6, 2009, Smith was matched up with Nick Diaz at a catchweight of 180 lb. during Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields, losing via rear naked choke at 1:19 of the third round. Smith fought

Cung Le Cung Le ( vi, Lê Cung; born May 25, 1972) is a Vietnamese-born American actor, retired mixed martial artist, Sanshou fighter and kickboxer. He competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), holding a record of ...

at Strikeforce: Evolution on December 19, 2009. Despite being dominated throughout most of the fight, Smith won via third round knock out and became the first man to ever defeat Cung Le. Smith fought Le again in a rematch with at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum on June 26, 2010. Smith lost by second round KO. Smith fought Paul Daley in a welterweight bout on December 4, 2010, at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II. Daley defeated Smith via one punch KO in the first round. As Smith was throwing a punch, Daley caught him with a hook. Smith took some time off after his loss to Daley, trying to heal up some injuries and rejuvenate his ground game. He faced

Tarec Saffiedine Tarec Robert Saffiedine (born 6 September 1986) is a Belgian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Saffiedine has also f ...

at Welterweight at the Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson event. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. After an 8-month layoff, Smith faced

Lumumba Sayers Patrice Émery Lumumba (; 2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was a Congolese politician and independence leader who served as the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (then known as the Republic of the Congo) from June u ...

at Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey. He lost via submission (guillotine choke) in round one, suffering his fourth loss in a row.

Post-Strikeforce career

Smith was expected to face Marcus Gaines at Gladiator Challenge on June 23, 2012, but an injury during training forced him to withdraw from the bout. Smith faced Mark Matthews on August 3, 2013, at WCFC 6 for the WCFC Middleweight Championship. He won the fight via second round TKO. He was then expected to face Max Griffin at WCFC 8 on February 15, 2014, however the bout was cancelled prior to the event.

Personal life

Smith has two sons. Smith has a younger brother, Shawn, who is also a mixed martial artist. He also has three sisters and an older brother.

Championships and accomplishments

*West Coast Fighting Championship **WCFC Middleweight Championship (One time, current) * World Extreme Cagefighting ** WEC Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Justin Baesman Justin Baesman (born June 3, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Bellator MMA, B ...

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, Submission (guillotine choke) , Strikeforce: Tate vs. Rousey , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

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, Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 17–8 (1) , Paul Daley , KO (punch) , Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:09 ,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

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, TKO (spinning back kick and punches) , Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:46 , San Jose, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 (1) ,

, KO (punches) , Strikeforce: Evolution , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:25 , San Jose, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 16–6 (1) , Nick Diaz , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:19 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 (1) , Benji Radach , KO (punch) , Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:24 , San Jose, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 (1) , Terry Martin , KO (punch) , Strikeforce: Destruction , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 , San Jose, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–5 (1) , Robbie Lawler , TKO (soccer kicks and punches) , EliteXC: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 14–4 (1) , Robbie Lawler , NC (accidental eye poke) , EliteXC: Primetime , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:26 , Newark, New Jersey, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 ,

, KO (punch) , EliteXC: Street Certified , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:07 , Miami, Florida, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Jeff Morris , KO (punch) , GC 73: High Noon , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 , Sacramento, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Ed Herman , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:25 , Belfast, Northern Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Troy Miller , KO (punch) , PFC 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–3 , Patrick Côté , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Pete Sell , KO (punch) , The Ultimate Fighter: The Comeback Finale , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:25 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 , David Terrell , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 59: Reality Check , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:08 , Anaheim, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, KO (punches) , WEC 18: Unfinished Business , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

WEC 17 WEC 17: Halloween Fury 4 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 14, 2005 at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. A light heavyweight tournament was held with the winner being crowned t ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Tim McKenzie , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , John Seilhan , KO (punch) , Gladiator Challenge 30 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:29 , Colusa, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Isidro Gonzalez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , SF 3: Dome , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 , Gresham, Oregon, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , James Irvin , KO (punch) , Gladiator Challenge 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 , Colusa, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Jaime Jara , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Gladiator Challenge 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 , Colusa, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Jaime Jara , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge 16 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:13 , Colusa, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Levi Thornbrue , TKO (punches) , Gladiator Challenge 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , Colusa, California, United States ,

debut. , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Tim Kennedy , TKO (doctor stoppage) , IFC: Warriors Challenge 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:53 , Oroville, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Ted Stamatelos , Submission (guillotine choke) , IFC: Warriors Challenge 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:16 , California, United States ,

References

External links

*
Archived UFC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Scott 1979 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists World Extreme Cagefighting champions Heavyweight mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Sportspeople from Reno, Nevada People from Elk Grove, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers