Davey Grant might be staring down a fifth straight performance bonus after finishing Louis Smolka in devastating fashion at UFC Vegas 54 on Saturday night.
The British bantamweight is always willing to engage in a brawl. However, it was a tactical decision to focus on calf kicks during the third round that allowed him to put Smolka to the floor. Grant grabbed the opportunity and began to pound away at Smolka with punches, even before his opponent fell on the ground.
The end came at 49 seconds into the final round, with Grant scoring the emphatic knockout victory.
“He struck me with some great shots,” Grant stated afterwards. I felt relaxed, and nothing hurt me. Going into round three, I felt fresh and energized.
” I think that I have a great reputation. I want quick knockouts, that’s what I’m aiming for but I seem to get into these good scraps.”
Smolka was threatened by Grant with any combination of strikes and kicks. The footwork from Grant also gave Smolka problems, as the Englishman would throw his strikes and then move out of the way before anything could really come back at him.
Despite eating a lot of shots, Smolka kept moving forward but wasn’t able to make Grant really pay during the exchanges. Late in the opening round, Grant cracked Smolka with a nice jab directly down the middle that put the Hawaiian down on the canvas.
Smolka made it to round two. The reset seemed to have helped him, as he started throwing more volume and many of his punches caught Grant. It also didn’t help Grant that he put so much force into his strikes that it appeared he might be slowing down, which also made him get a little wild with his combinations.
That all changed at the start of the third after Grant’s coaches told him to return to the calf kicks, which was a very effective weapon for him in the early part of the fight. As soon as Grant landed a couple of those in a row, Smolka was visibly affected with his leg taking a lot of damage.
Another calf kick followed and Smolka went down, with Grant following him to the ground and unloading with punches that scored him the knockout.
Grant’s win was a good thing. He might now be looking for an additional $50,000 after the fight. Grant is also building his reputation as one the best fighters in the UFC.
