Jimmy Smith is done with his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) run and he’s taken the time to explain why.
Smith signed with the UFC back in Jan. 2018. While some thought Smith would be groomed to eventually take over Joe Rogan’s color commentary position once he was ready to step back, that obviously isn’t going to happen. Smith announced that the UFC decided not to re-sign him to a deal after just one year.
Jimmy Smith Talks Not Being Welcomed Back To UFC
Smith recently appeared on “The MMA Hour.” During his appearance, he explained to Luke Thomas why the UFC decided not to re-sign him:
“Very simply it was, ‘you’re great, fantastic, we love everything you did [but] we’re going with UFC fighters for 2019. So, that’s it. I don’t think I’m leaving out any syllables. It was literally that was the conversation. It was, ‘love everything you did, fewer shows, we’re going with UFC fighters for those shows.’ That was it. Other than Joe [Rogan] it’s all UFC fighters, that’s it. ‘We had no issue with your performance, everybody loved you, but you didn’t fight in the UFC,’ so that’s it.”
Smith took the risk of signing a one-year deal, when he could’ve stay with Bellator MMA. Smith noted that the one-year deal was the only way he could’ve received his shot with the UFC. Now, he’s out of a job although many expect him to be back on the horse soon.
Where do you think Jimmy Smith will eventually land?
