With his victory on The Ultimate Fighter 16 a couple weeks ago, Colton Smith won a six-figure contract and the chance any fighter craves, the opportunity to compete in the UFC. Although he was not highly touted coming in, and had much less MMA experience than many of his rivals, Smith persevered, winning in the finale against the favored Mike Ricci. With the win, Smith showed that substance is more important than style as he dominated the flashy Ricci for a unanimous decision victory.
Appearing on the Jeff Mayweather Show on the first day of the year, Colton Smith rejoins his boxing coach for the show, Jeff Mayweather. Jeff served as one of the assistant coaches for Roy Nelson, whose team Smith was a part of. The two reminisced about their time on the show, showing a true fondness for each other, something that the show often portrayed was missing from Team Nelson.
The Ultimate Fighter is just like most reality television. The priority of the UFC is to provide must see television, therefore, things often can be distorted for the sake of ratings. Whatever will get the most eyes on the screen is what they are going to promote. With that in mind, it was interesting to hear what Colton and Jeff had to say about what really went on during the filming.
While he did admit to a lot of frustration by some of his teammates at their coach, Roy Nelson, he vehemently defended the MMA coaching he received while there. He said that often they chose to cast blame on others rather than accept their own short comings. Nelson provided an incredible array of coaches including Jeff Mayweather and UFC standouts Rashad Evans, Royce Gracie, Forrest Griffin and the Diaz brothers among others. There was a huge misconception that Roy offered little in the way of training, according to Smith.
With being crowned champion of The Ultimate Fighter, there comes a lot of pressure to succeed. Many eyes are on you, wondering if you can live up to the billing. With Colton Smith, it will be no different. He still considers himself an underdog, but believes that he has the will and work ethic to reach the highest levels of MMA. It will be interesting to see if he can do just that as he continues to balance his fighting career and being an active duty member of the military.
The banter between Jeff and Colton was nice to hear. You could really feel the appreciation Smith had for Jeff and the respect Jeff had for the work Colton Smith put in to be the champion. The viewers were mostly treated to the negative from Team Nelson throughout the show, so it was refreshing to learn about the positives that came out of it. With his victory, Roy Nelson was at least in part vindicated. The show was certainly put together in a way to make Nelson look like a poor coach. Smith and Mayweather do a lot to put that idea to rest.
Only time will tell if Colton Smith is indeed The Ultimate Fighter. But he seems to have the right outlook on fighting and life that will allow him to have a very bright future in the cage. and out.
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