UFC SINGAPORE: MAIN EVENT BREAKDOWN WITH JIMMY SMITH

UFC SINGAPORE: MAIN EVENT BREAKDOWN WITH JIMMY SMITH

I caught up with the UFC’s Jimmy Smith to discuss this weekend’s main event at UFC Singapore between Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Leon Edwards. Jimmy is a former 5-1 MMA fight who is now a highly respected UFC commentator and analyst.

Q: Donald Cerrone vs Leon Edwards is one of those classic match ups, where the established fighter tries to stay relevant and the new kid on the block tries to get his breakthrough win. Could you give us a brief outline of each fighter

Jimmy: Everyone knows what Cowboy brings: he is aggressive, versatile, and is at his best when he mixes up the attacks on the feet. Great kicks, solid punches, and clinch work have been the key to his success. What most people look past is his submission game: of his 33 wins, 16 are by sub. The guy brings fun and excitement to every fight.

Leon Edwards is more of the X-factor in this fight. 15-3 and hasn’t lost since losing a decision to Kamaru Usman in 2015. He’s won five in a row since that setback. He is a southpaw with a quick left hand and good ground and pound. No real names on his resume outside of Usman, but he beat the tough up and comer Vincente Luque last year.

Q: What are the strengths of each fighter, and a weakness which could prove to be their downfall

Jimmy: Cowboy’s strength here is his experience. 44 professional fights, many of those against the top names in the sport. He’s used to being a headliner and isn’t intimidated by the road or the big lights. His weakness is that he doesn’t fight as well when he is emotional and some of Edwards’ comments leading up to this fight have gotten under his skin. Nate Diaz famously took Cerrone off his game by making the fight personal and Edwards may be trying to do the same thing.

Edwards has shown real skills in a few different areas. He has a slick boxing style that emphasizes the left hand shot, but he tends to take defensive risks. He loves walking forward with his hands down and that might spell trouble with a fighter like Cowboy who has real KO power.

Q: For each fighter what is their route to victory

Jimmy: Cowboy wants to take his time, wear the younger fighter down, and make it about late fight experience. I don’t think he wants a shoot-out with the young buck: get a takedown or two, keep Edwards guessing and go for a late finish. Edwards wants an aggressive performance similar to the one Darren Till used against Cowboy. The first round is better territory for the younger fighter and he wants to come out guns blazing, lure Cowboy into a firefight, and hope the left hand finds its mark.

Q: What is the sleeper fight on this week’s card

Jimmy: Sleeper fight of the card to me is Jake Matthews vs Shinsho Anzai. Both are up and comers with real finishing ability and a lot of momentum.

Q: I would like to get your view on weight cutting. Will moving the weigh-in times really help. Or is it a case fighters cut too much weight too soon and/or they are in the wrong weight division. Personally I think from two weeks out, fighters should have their weights checked, target weights at set points, which stops the ridiculous amounts of weight they cut in the last few days.

Jimmy: My views have been stated a few times. The penalties have to be severe enough that a fighter who wins because he/she missed weight will lose to much for it to be worth it. I’m in favour of point deductions to balance out a fighters weight advantage and removal from the weight class after a certain number of misses.

Q: The last time we spoke you had just signed with the UFC, how’s your first few months gone.

Jimmy: The UFC has been really fantastic to work for. Everyone there has shown me a ton of respect and they have used me for a lot of events in my first 6 months. I expected a little more of a “new guy” transition period, but it has really gone smoothly on just about every level. The fan response really surprised me and they have been nothing but supportive.

Thank you so much for taking the time out to answer my questions, and look forward to catching up again soon.