UFC Fight Night 96's Louis Smolka has a lot of crazy things to show you in the octagon

Louis Smolka not only believes he’s among the best in the flyweight division, he believes he’s ready to knock off longtime division king Demetrious Johnson.

Smolka (11-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) brings a four-fight winning streak into the octagon tonight when he faces Brandon Moreno (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 96. The event takes place at Moda Center in Portland, Ore. The main card airs on FS1 following prelims on FS2 and UFC Fight Pass.

Moreno was not the originally planned opponent for Smolka. Sergio Pettis (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) was scheduled to be the man standing across the cage, but an injury – or Pettis’ “hurt vagina,” if Smolka is to be believed – scratched the bout.

Smolka feels fairly comfortable leaving Pettis in his rearview mirror, telling MMAjunkie radio he is not planning to sit around waiting for him to get healthy.

“I’m honestly not trying to wait around for him,” Smolka said. “I don’t know when he’s coming back or whatever. I’m not really trying to wait for him. He’s below me in the rankings and I’m just trying to move forward. I don’t really care about Sergio, in all honesty.”

Smolka’s idea of moving forward includes the biggest game in the division.

He said he believes his style will give Johnson (24-2-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) a particularly unique challenge.

“I think I’m right there, man,” Smolka said. “I think I have a strong case for a title shot. I present a lot of things Demetrious hasn’t seen before. I present weird scrambles, range, a good grappling ability. I present a lot of interesting challenges and think I deserve a shot.”

A host of fighters are currently vying for a shot at Johnson on the currently airing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 24.

Johnson will face the winner of the reality show on the Dec. 3 finale at Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort.

The best 125 pounds has to offer have not been able to throw Johnson off with their strengths. From the speed and variety of John Dodson’s attack to the Olympic wrestling bona fides of Henry Cejudo, Johnson has rarely struggled during his lengthy championship reign.

However, Smolka believes he has enough tricks, including ones he has not been able to showcase in his previous bouts, to snatch the belt from Johnson’s grasp.

“I think I’m a completely different fighter than you guys have seen,” Smolka said. “A little bit of it is getting the confidence to do what I do inside the gym inside the octagon. I’ve haven’t even gotten into situations where the opportunity to show some of my crazy stuff has presented itself. I feel like I’ve done a lot of things in the octagon that no one has ever done before: I had the first side-kick knockout, I don’t know who else has done a fireman’s carry in the octagon but I did it to Neil Seery.”

Check out the full video above for more of Smolka’s thoughts on his place in the division.

For more on UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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