UFC Fight Night 40's Louis Smolka surprised by comparisons to Jones, Diaz

It was clear to all who saw Louis Smolka‘s UFC debut that the 22-year-old has a tremendous amount of potential in the flyweight division.

With many 125-pound fighters already established as former bantamweights and the division’s champ lording over challengers, new blood isn’t hard to notice. By dominating Alptekin Ozkilic en route to a unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 35, Smolka drew raves from hardcore MMA evens.

The intensity of the praise even surprised the young fighter.

“After my fight, I was going to the forums, and people were comparing me to Jon Jones and Nick Diaz,” he told MMAjunkie Radio. “I was pretty surprised by that. As a fighter, you want to be called the next big thing, but it’s weird when it actually happens.

Smolka later added: “I felt pretty good about myself, I’m not going to lie.”

Such accolades have led many a young fighter down the wrong path and toward a violent reality check, but Smolka claims he has plenty of people to keep him grounded in his native Hawaii, where he trains in Waipahu at Hawaii Elite MMA.

“They don’t let me get too big a head; they always keep me in check,” he said. “Everyone just keeps me in place and keeps me hungry.”

As he rises in the ranks of UFC’s flyweights, Smolka (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will need plenty of drive to reach champ Demetrious Johnson. While the division is less populated than others, standouts such as Joseph Benavidez make things crowded near the top. On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 40, the up-and-comer gets a main-card spot against vet Chris Cariaso (16-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC), who has twice his experience both in the number of total fights and against high-level competition.

Cariaso also excels in the striking game, where Smolka impressed against Ozkilic. His resume is filled with wins over lesser-known talent with repeated setbacks against top-tier competition.

That means if Smolka can’t get past Cariaso, he probably has little chance of beating opponents such as Benavidez or Johnson. Then again, Smolka also is part of the sport’s new generation of fighters, which in theory gives him advantages over the previous generation and more time to shore up weaknesses.

“I guess we are part of that new breed,” Smolka said. “It’s generational, I guess. I grew up doing a lot of different martial arts; I was around combat sports a lot. I guess that translates to the new generation of fighter.”

Now, can it translate for Smolka? Will he reach his potential, or flame out on his way to reaching it? Is he the flyweight Jones or Diaz?

That much isn’t clear, but first thing is to figure out what he’s going to do against his next opponent. Cariaso is susceptible to submissions, having lost two under the Zuffa banner via tapout.

“I’m not really sure what I’m going to do yet,” Smolka said. “I don’t really know until the fight happens. But if the submission is there, I’ll take it for sure. I’m all about finishes and exciting fights.”

UFC Fight Night 40 takes place May 10 at Cincinnati’s U.S. Bank Arena. The main card airs FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC Fight Night 40, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie 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 lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.