James Smith (born September 2, 1977) is an American
sports broadcaster
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present tense. There are two main types of sports broadcast ...
and former mixed martial artist. He was the co-host of the television show ''
Fight Quest'', with Doug Anderson, on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
. He is also a former commentator for
Bellator,
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
,
Premier Boxing Champions and
WWE’s Raw brand. He is a former host for ''
American Ninja Warrior
''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...
'' in 2010–2011.
Early life
Smith was born on September 2, 1977. He was a former high school wrestler and teacher. He attended
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
in college but at that time, they did not have a wrestling team so some students who wrestled in high school would meet at the Wooden Center to wrestle. He was introduced to
Brazilian jiu-jitsu when during one of their wrestling sessions a BJJ instructor invited him to attend a class that night at the same room. After graduating Smith trained at
Team Punishment.
Mixed martial arts career
Smith had planned to attend
graduate school
Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachel ...
at UCLA but did not get admitted. He decided to turn pro in MMA and accepted a fight on 2 days' notice in a regional unsanctioned event, he won the fight in 30 seconds with an
armbar
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...
.
He had a total of 6 MMA fights and only lost 1. He decided to quit fighting after getting accepted for a job as a host for the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
's show ''
Fight Quest''.
Commentary career
Mixed martial arts and boxing
Smith got an audition for
Fight Quest a week after his last fight and got the job. He hosted Fight Quest for 2 seasons with Doug Anderson. It last aired on October 3, 2008. After Fight Quest, he received an email from
Pride
Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...
's former
VP, Jerry Millen, to do an
M-1 Global
M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year.
It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...
show in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
as they needed a color commentator last-minute. Millen had seen Fight Quest and sent a message to both Smith and Anderson and whoever got back first would have gotten the job. He got the job and that's how he transitioned from MMA to hosting to commentating.
In 2010, Smith started to be the color commentator for
Bellator in season 2 after their TV-deal agreements with
Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...
,
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...
. In the same year, Smith started to host ''
American Ninja Warrior
''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...
'' for its
second season. Smith co-hosted American Ninja Warrior until the
third season before being replaced by
Jonny Moseley for the
fourth season. On March 13, 2015, Smith provided co-hosting duties together with former
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
champion
Antonio Tarver for
Premier Boxing Champions. On December 28, 2017, Bellator announced that they have parted ways with Smith after a 7-year run.
On January 12, 2018, Smith signed with the
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...
. On January 1, 2019, Smith revealed that UFC did not renew his contract as a commentator.
On March 8, 2019, it was announced that Smith joined
Invicta FC
Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...
as a commentator.
Professional wrestling
On May 26, 2021, WWE named Smith as play-by-play commentator for ''
Monday Night Raw
''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show features character ...
'', replacing
Adnan Virk. On October 6, 2022, Smith announced his departure from WWE and was replaced by
Kevin Patrick.
Personal life
Smith has a black belt in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Ricardo "Rey" Diogo.
Mixed martial arts record
, -
, Win
, align=center, 5–1
,
Jason Chambers
Jason Chambers (born March 23, 1980, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American actor, mixed martial artist and sports commentator. Chambers is best known for his role as the host of the popular weekly television program '' Human Weapon'' on The Histo ...
, Submission (heel hook)
, Pangea Fights 1: The Beginning
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 1:55
,
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
, United States
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 4–1
, Andy Wang
, Decision (split)
, Total Fighting Alliance 2
,
, align=center, 3
, align=center, 5:00
,
Carson, California
Carson is a city in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and the Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor regions of Los Angeles County, California, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 4–0
, Vince Gooseman
, Submission (armbar)
, King of the Cage 61: Flash Point
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 2:50
,
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 3–0
, Mario Ackerbert
, Submission (armbar)
, Gladiator Challenge 36: Proving Grounds
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 0:29
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 2–0
,
James Wilks
, Submission (kneebar)
, King of the Cage 37: Hitmaster
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 1:40
,
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 1–0
, Matt Stansell
, Decision
, King of the Cage 31
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 5:00
,
San Jacinto, California
San Jacinto ( , ; ) is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet, California, Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, Beaumont to its north. The mountains ...
, United States
,
, -
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jimmy
1977 births
American color commentators
American male mixed martial artists
American sports podcasters
American male sport wrestlers
Amateur wrestlers
Mixed martial artists from California
American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Mixed martial arts people
Welterweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling
Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Living people
Sportspeople from Fresno, California
American professional wrestling announcers
WWE Raw