Louis Smolka: The Last Samurai’s Battle

Louis Smolka: The Last Samurai’s Battle

By Calum Christie 

Louis Smolka (15-5) is a household name to many UFC fans having competed 10 times under the UFC banner, those who followed his career saw his rise in the flyweight division putting together a 4 fight win streak beating off the likes of Paddy Holohan, Neil Seery and then knocking out the highly thought of prospect Ben Nguyen. Everything was looking up for the Last Samurai who was in flyweight title contention until October 1st 2016.

Smolka then went on a 4 fight skid losing to the likes of Brandon Moreno and future title challenger Ray Borg culminating with a defeat on the opening prelim bout on UFC 219 where Matheus Nicolau earned a comfortable decision victory over Smolka which saw the UFC with no option but to cut Louis – But this was only the tip of the iceberg there was a demon within the Last Samurai, alcoholism.

Louis Smolka has always been very open about his battle with alcohol addiction and how this affected his performances and training intensity. Smolka was forced to go back to the regional scene to prove his worth again, and that is when he decided to make a change for the better. He switched training camps and moved to California to train with team Oyama where his drinking wouldn’t cut it under the strict guidance of head coach Colin Oyama – a new adventure for Smolka, he was fighting with a new gym and also fighting outside the octagon cage for the first time since 2013.

Smolka would go on to earn 3 victories outside the UFC all by way of finishes fighting with promotions such as CXF, Gladiator and Destiny. On top of picking up a 3 fight win streak Smolka has also been sober since January of 2018 – and right on queue the UFC came calling again, finally a chance to right the wrongs.

At UFC Beijing Louis Smolka made his return albeit a debut in the bantamweight division against Mudaerji Su (11-4). The Last Samurai looked very good in his bout, securing numerous takedowns and made it a successful return getting a finish in the 2nd round by way of an arm bar submission. An emotional Smolka gave an interview to Dan Hardy and credited himself for overcoming alcohol addiction and thanked his family who played a major role in him getting the big victory in China.

It will certainly be intriguing to see how Smolka does with his new 4 fight deal he got offered, one thing is for sure – he has already faced the biggest fight of his career and the only way can only be up.