Louis Smolka 'trying not to freak out too much' before UFC on FOX 24 fight vs. Tim Elliott

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Louis Smolka was in honest-to-God shock at what the UFC was offering.

When the promotion contacted Smolka and asked if he’d like to fight Tim Elliott, Smolka couldn’t believe it. Here he is, fresh off back-to-back losses, and the UFC is offering him “The Ultimate Fighter 24” winner coming off a title fight against Demetrious Johnson?

“I thought they were lying to me,” Smolka told MMAjunkie this week. “I thought people were messing with me. I was like, ‘No, you’re not going to give me Tim Elliott. You guys are ridiculous.'”

On the contrary, the UFC was serious. And now Smolka will face Elliott at UFC on FOX 24 on Saturday at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Their fight kicks off prelims on FOX, which take place before the main card and after early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Smolka had been on four-fight win streak before dropping his previous two bouts, a submission loss to Brandon Moreno at UFC Fight Night 96 followed by a unanimous decision loss at catchweight to Ray Borg at UFC 207 last December. Smolka isn’t just looking to bounce back with a win. The way he sees it, a victory over a recent title contender would mean so much more.

“It’s a gift to me,” Smolka said. “In all honesty, I know it’s his hometown, he’s supposed to be really hyped now and all that. But it’s a gift for me. This is a real chance to rebound from my last two fights. It’s a legitimate shot at getting back on track.

“In my eyes, it’s a gift – and not one that I necessarily deserve considering how my past two fights were.”

Though Smolka finds himself on a downswing, he doesn’t want to put too much on it. After all, he was 11-1 and doing fine before his recent skid. He’s not about to put extra pressure on himself and make big changes against Elliott.

“I’m trying not to freak out too much,” Smolka said. “I mean, I’m just kind of taking it as it is. Either I’m good, or I’m not. Either I’m a winner, or I’m not. I’m not going to freak out too badly. I’m just going to go in there and try to fight, you know. See how good I am. …

“I don’t want to over-correct, like start freaking out and trying to revamp a bunch of things and mess with a bunch of things. The formula worked before. It should work again.”

For more on UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.