Colton Smith says a less-technical Chiesa may as well be fighting in Brazil

Colton Smith has a lot to be excited about in his upcoming bout with Michael Chiesa. He’s competing in a new weight class, and he spent a full training camp at the famed Team Jackson-Winkeljohn. But to Smith, none of that compares to the opportunity to fight in front of his brothers and sisters in arms.

“I’m extremely blessed to be able to fight in front of the troops,”” Smith told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I would rather fight in front of the troops in a shed than be on the biggest pay-per-view card that the UFC could put out. I don’t care about that crap. I care about fighting in front of the troops. This is an awesome experience.”

Smith (3-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and Chiesa (9-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meet on the FOX Sports 1-broadcast main card of next Wednesday’s “UFC Fight Night 31: UFC Fight for the Troops 3? event, which takes place in Fort Campbell, Ken. For Smith, who remains an active member of the U.S. Army, the chance to compete at such an event is especially sweet, and he believes the setting will pay massive dividends in terms of crowd support. In fact, he believes Chiesa may be forced to endure one of the most hostile environments the UFC has ever seen.

“It’s in front of the troops; it’s in front of my brothers and sisters in arms,” Smith said. “This is in my backyard. This is going to be foreign to him. It’s going to be like fighting in Brazil against a Brazilian.

“I’m fighting on a military base with my brothers and sisters in arms, people that I’ve served overseas with and trained with and been to schools with and served the last eight years with, so I’m extremely excited. I can’t wait to put on a show for the fans.”

It’s a critical matchup for both former winners of “The Ultimate Fighter” as each looks to rebound from a loss. Smith suffered a third-round TKO loss to Robert Whittaker at May’s UFC 160 event, while Chiesa was stopped by Jorge Masvidal in July for the first loss of his career.

But in addition to the atmosphere advantage, Smith believes he’s also the better fighter.

“Michael Chiesa, I don’t think technically he poses too much of an issue for me,” Smith said. “I believe his heart and his drive and his determination is his ‘X’ factor. I welcome that. It’s going to be a great fight.”

Smith’s first battle will be with the scales as the former welterweight makes his way down to 155 pounds for the first time since he was deployed to Iraq, a period when Smith says, “we only got like one solid meal a day, maybe two.” But he’s enlisted the help of a professional nutritionist and says the pounds are melting away with ease.

He also trained at elevation for the first time, as the Army granted him enough time off to move his camp to New Mexico to with Greg Jackson for a full camp. In short, Smith believes he couldn’t have asked for a better set of circumstances for this appearance. Now he just needs to execute the plan

“I’ve vastly improved,” Smith said. “I had a real training camp. I forgot what a real training camp was. This time around the Army allowed me to go to Jackson’s and train out there with Greg and Mike Winkeljohn, so hopefully things are going to be a lot different this time around.

“I’m excited about the drop to 155. I’m excited to put my hands on him and show the new skills.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 31, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.