Colton Smith (born August 14, 1987) is an American former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. Smith is best known for competing on, and winning The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson. His dominant wrestling style allowed him to defeat all five fighters he faced in the tournament by decision. He is currently an active member of the U.S. Army.

Early life

Smith started wrestling at an early age. During high school, Smith wrestled for

Ankeny High School Ankeny High School is a public high school located in Ankeny, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Ankeny Community School District, and serves grades 10 through 12. History AHS opened in 1913 and graduated six seniors in the spring of 1914 ...

at 145 pounds. Smith graduated high school in 2005 and enlisted in the Army.

Army career

Smith, a Combat

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

soldier, earned airborne, ranger, and

sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

tabs and has served tours in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Afghanistan. While assigned to Echo Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment (Old Guard), Smith earned his

Expert Infantryman Badge The Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB) is a special skills badge of the United States Army. The EIB was created with the CIB by executive order in November 1943 during World War II. Currently, it is awarded to U.S. Army personnel who hold infantry ...

. Smith currently serves as the chief Combatives Instructor at III Corps and Fort Hood. Smith has since been selected for promotion to Sergeant First Class and expects to refocus on Army training. The

Army Times ''Army Times'' (ISSN 0004–2595) is a newspaper published 26 times a year serving active, reserve, national guard and retired United States Army personnel and their families, providing news, information and analysis as well as community and ...

admitted, after criticizing Smith's recent MMA performances, that they received backlash from their vocal readership indicating Smith's popularity among fellow servicemembers.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Smith started his career with a 2–1 record, including a win in M-1 Challenge. Smith trained Brazilian Jiujitsu under Relson Gracie earning his purple belt and developed his MMA skill under Lloyd Irvin and Vanguard Gym in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of ...

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Smith was selected as a cast member for The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson. He had to receive special permission in order to participate in the reality series during active duty. In the elimination fight in order to get into the house, Smith defeated Jesse Barrett by unanimous decision. Smith was the subject of controversy for putting his hand out to touch gloves, but faking and immediately shooting for a take down. In his first fight inside the house, Smith won a majority decision over Eddie Ellis. In the quarterfinal round Smith won another decision over Igor Araujo to advance to the semifinal round. In the semifinals, Smith advanced to the finals with a unanimous decision win over Jon Manley.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Smith made his official UFC debut on December 15, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale against Mike Ricci. Smith won the fight via unanimous decision to become the Ultimate Fighter 16 winner. Smith faced Robert Whittaker on May 25, 2013 at UFC 160. He lost the fight by TKO in the third round. Smith next faced

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and sports analyst who currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

in a lightweight bout on November 6, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 31. He was defeated via rear naked choke in the second round. Smith faced promotional newcomer

Carlos Diego Ferreira Carlos Diego Ferreira Neves (born January 18, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Legacy FC lightweight champion, and vacate ...

on June 28, 2014 at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens. He lost the fight via a modified rear-naked choke submission, and was released from the promotion shortly after.

Post-UFC

Eight months after his last UFC fight, Smith returned to compete on the local circuit where he picked up two victories in the Rocks Xtreme MMA promotion.

World Series of Fighting

On August 20, 2015 it was announced that Smith signed with the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. He made his eventual debut on October 17, 2015 at WSOF 24 against Washington Da Silva. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Grappling

On July 22, 2013, Colton Smith competed in a no gi super fight against

at th
American Grappling Federation
s Southern Regionals. Ferreira won the match by points.

Personal life

Smith has three children. He runs his own MMA gym, Enlisted Nine Fight Company, in

Stafford County, Virginia Stafford County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is approximately south of Washington, D.C. It is part of the Northern Virginia region, and the D.C area. It is one of the fastest-growing and highest-income counties in ...

and fledging lifestyle brand Enlisted Nine Fight Company partnered with Veteran Clothing giant, NineLine Apparel.

Accomplishments

** Ultimate Fighter 16 Winner ** The Ultimate Fighter 16 Fight of the Season

Mixed martial arts record

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Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson'' is the sixteenth main installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season reverted to the taped format, after The ...

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Championship Fighting Alliance Championship Fighting Alliance (CFA) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) based promotion company located in Miami Lakes, Florida. It was founded by former MMA fighter and promoter Jorge De La Noval in 2011. Events CFA has currently produced 10 live ...

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Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

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Mixed martial arts exhibition record

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Amateur mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colton 1987 births Living people United States Army Rangers Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Lightweight mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Iowa People from Fort Cavazos Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters