It was the biggest win in Cole Smith鈥檚 mixed martial arts career.
Not just because he won the Battlefield Fight League (BFL) amateur bantamweight title, but because of his Uncle Mark Littke.
The man who helped Smith on his journey into the MMA world died while Smith was training in Thailand and his funeral in Kamloops happened to be on Saturday, March 28 鈥� the same day Smith was to fight for the title in Richmond.
Smith said it was a tough choice, but Uncle Mark would have wanted him to chase his dreams.
鈥淗e would have wanted me to go through with the fight,鈥� Smith said of his beloved uncle, who died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). 鈥淗e told my mom before he died that he wanted me to do my thing in the cage no matter what. He did everything for me. I fought for Uncle Mark that night 鈥� there was no way I was losing that fighting or tapping out to anything.鈥�
Littke was a big supporter of Smith and even helped pay his living expenses while he trained in Thailand with Team Quest. Smith just returned from Thailand on March 22 and said it was a quick turnaround to re-enter the BFL cage.
鈥淚t was kind of tough because I was dealing with jet lag and as soon as I got home I had to cut weight,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I was taking this fight no matter what. I felt like I deserved this shot a long time ago and it wasn鈥檛 a big shock to win the belt.鈥�
It was the first time in Smith鈥檚 career that he went the full five championship rounds and he managed to beat Vancouver鈥檚 Kirk Tse with a unanimous decision. Judges scored four out of the five rounds to Smith.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 in any real danger,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e had me in a guillotine in the fifth round, but there was no way I was going to submit to that. I felt super confident putting pressure on him and being stronger than him and taking him down. From the start I wanted to get on top and let him know who鈥檚 stronger and I think I did that.鈥�
Smith said there are some perks to being the champion, including increases in money and bigger fights. He also gets to keep a replica version of the belt.
鈥淚 took it out to the club that night,鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淚鈥檓 not really the kind of guy to show it off, but we had a lot of fun.鈥�
He said his time with Team Quest helped speed up the development of his fighting.
鈥淭eam Quest is such a great gym,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey sponsored me to train there for free and my uncle paid all my living expenses. I learned so many things, but the best thing I learned was how to train like a real professional. I was training twice a day, six times a week and I learned there is no being sore or tired.鈥�
Smith said he should have a busy rest of the year, but isn鈥檛 sure when his next fight will occur. He shared that several organizations have contacted him to fight but he鈥檚 pleased with the way BFL has helped launch his young career.
For more information on the fight, visit www.battlefieldfl.com.
