Maurice Smith (kickboxer)

Maurice Smith
Born December 13, 1961
Seattle, Washington, United States
Other names Mo
Nationality American
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 93.44 kg (206.0 lb; 14.714 st)
Division Heavyweight (1993-2008, 2013-present)
Light Heavyweight (2012)
Team The Alliance
Years active 1980–2008, 2012-present
Professional boxing record
Total 1
Losses 1
By knockout 1
Kickboxing record
Total 71
Wins 53
Losses 13
Draws 5
Mixed martial arts record
Total 28
Wins 14
By knockout 8
By submission 3
By decision 3
Losses 14
By submission 8
By decision 4
Unknown 2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: May 24, 2013

Maurice L. Smith[1] (born December 13, 1961) is an American mixed martial artist and former kickboxer who most recently competed in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 1980, Smith has formerly competed for the UFC, Strikeforce, PRIDE FC, Pancrase, the IFL, RINGS, the RFA, and World Victory Road.

Career

Kickboxing career

Smith won his first professional kickboxing title in 1983 for the World Kickboxing Council by defeating Light Heavyweight Champion Tony Morelli by knockout in the seventh round. Later that year, he won the World Kickboxing Association Heavyweight Championship from Travis Everett with a KO via low kicks. Smith then went ten straight years without a loss.

He also had a notable win in 1991 over Stan Longinidis who, at the time, was tearing through the ranks and was regarded as a super up and coming fighter. Maurice won this 12 round match by split decision after coming back from a knockdown in the first round by Stan and surviving an early onslaught.

In 1993, Smith was invited to the K-1 Grand Prix '93 along with seven of the world's best Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight kickboxers. Smith won his first match by defeating Japanese fighter Toshiyuki Atokawa in the quarterfinals by unanimous decision. In the semifinals he met Dutch fighter and future K-1 legend, Ernesto Hoost, where after a hard fought battle Smith was knocked out by left highkick in the final round, ending his tournament.

Mixed martial arts career

After a stint in Japanese promotions Pancrase and RINGS, accumulating a 4-7 record, Smith joined Battlecade Extreme Fighting in 1996 to fight against the Heavyweight Champion Marcus "Conan" Silveira. Throughout the fight Maurice showed excellent use of the sprawl technique which negated the Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter's attempts at takedowns. Smith then knocked out Silveira in the third round with a kick to the head. In doing so, he became the Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Champion and became the first legitimate striker to win a top-end MMA event.

He then defended his title in the fourth show against judo exponent Kazunari Murakami with a first-round knockout. After the win, the company folded and Maurice joined the largest MMA promotion in the United States, the UFC.

Smith developed a close relationship with Frank Shamrock, who he met while training at the Lion's Den. Shamrock and Smith worked synergistically; Shamrock, a submission specialist, improved Smith's ground game while Smith, in return, improved Shamrock's striking. Smith and Shamrock eventually formed their own MMA team, called the Alliance.

At UFC 14 on July 27, 1997, Smith faced UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman in a title fight. Smith was considered to be a massive underdog for the bout, but shocked the mixed martial arts world with a unanimous decision victory to win the UFC Heavyweight Championship. With this win, Smith became the first striker to survive the attack of a world class wrestler. Through the use of an active guard, Smith was able to negate Coleman's vaunted "ground and pound" attack. After nearly 15 minutes of attempting to damage Smith through his guard Coleman was exhausted, allowing Smith to capitalize on the feet. He then successfully defended his belt against David "Tank" Abbott winning via strikes due to leg kicks, before losing his belt to MMA legend Randy Couture by majority decision, in a close fight.

Return to MMA

On May 19, 2007 Maurice Smith had his first MMA bout in almost seven years when he defeated Marco Ruas by TKO at an International Fight League show held in Chicago. On February 23, 2008 at a Strikeforce event entitled Strikeforce: At The Dome held at the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, Smith defeated kickboxer Rick Roufus, who was making his MMA debut, by submission at 1:53 of the first round.

Maurice Smith was the coach of the Seattle Tiger Sharks of the International Fight League from 2006 to 2007. He is currently associated with Team Alliance.

Smith returned to MMA on March 30, 2012 at the second Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) card against Jorge Cordoba, his first career fight as a Light Heavyweight. After spending the first two rounds picking apart Cordoba with various strikes, Maurice finished the fight with a head-kick knockout. He was scheduled to fight Ryan Lopez on June 30, 2012 at Resurrection Fighting Alliance's third event, RFA 3.[2] Weeks before the fight, though, Lopez was forced to pull out of the fight due to an unspecified illness. This would have been Smith's second career fight at Light Heavyweight.

Smith returned to the Heavyweight division and lost a unanimous decision to Matt Kovacs at Cage Warrior Combat (CWC) 9 on November 2, 2013.[3]

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing

Mixed martial arts

Kickboxing record

Kickboxing Record

Legend:       Win       Loss       Draw/No contest       Notes

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 14–14 Matt Kovacs Decision (unanimous) CWC 9: Cage Warrior Combat 9 November 2, 2013 3 5:00 Kent, Washington, United States Return to Heavyweight division.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 14–13 Jorge Cordoba KO (head kick) RFA 2: Yvel vs. Alexander March 30, 2012 3 2:05 Kearney, Nebraska, United States Drops to Light Heavyweight.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 13–13 Hidehiko Yoshida Submission (cobra choke) Sengoku 3 June 8, 2008 1 2:23 Saitama, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 13–12 Rick Roufus Submission (straight armbar) Strikeforce: At The Dome February 23, 2008 1 1:53 Tacoma, Washington, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12–12 Marco Ruas TKO (corner stoppage) IFL: Chicago May 19, 2007 4 3:43 Chicago, Illinois, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 11–12 Renato Sobral Decision (unanimous) UFC 28 November 17, 2000 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11–11 Bobby Hoffman Decision (majority) UFC 27 September 22, 2000 3 5:00 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 10–11 Renzo Gracie Submission (straight armbar) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Block B December 22, 1999 1 0:50 Tokyo, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 10–10 Branden Lee Hinkle Decision (majority) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Block B December 22, 1999 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 9–10 Marcus Silveira Submission (arm-triangle choke) WEF 7: Stomp in the Swamp October 9, 1999 2 2:48 Kenner, Louisiana, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9–9 Branko Cikatic Submission (forearm choke) PRIDE 7 September 12, 1999 1 7:33 Yokohama, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8–9 Marco Ruas TKO (corner stoppage) UFC 21 July 16, 1999 1 5:00 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 7–9 Kevin Randleman Decision (unanimous) UFC 19 March 5, 1999 1 15:00 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 7–8 Randy Couture Decision (majority) UFC Japan December 21, 1997 1 21:00 Yokohama, Japan Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7–7 Tank Abbott Submission (exhaustion) UFC 15 October 17, 1997 1 8:08 Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, United States Defended UFC Heavyweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6–7 Mark Coleman Decision (unanimous) UFC 14 July 27, 1997 1 21:00 Birmingham, Alabama, United States Won UFC Heavyweight Championship. Fight of the Year (1997).
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–7 Kazunari Murakami KO (punch) Extreme Fighting 4 March 28, 1997 1 4:23 Des Moines, Iowa, United States Defended Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 4–7 Akira Maeda N/A RINGS: Budokan Hall 1997 January 22, 1997 N/A N/A Tokyo, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–6 Marcus Silveira TKO (head kick) Extreme Fighting 3 October 18, 1996 3 1:36 Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Won Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Championship
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 3–6 Kiyoshi Tamura Submission (armbar) RINGS: Maelstrom 6 August 24, 1996 1 10:58 Tokyo, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 3–5 Tsuyoshi Kohsaka N/A RINGS: Budokan Hall 1996 January 24, 1996 N/A N/A Tokyo, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 3–4 Bas Rutten Submission (rear-naked choke) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 6 November 4, 1995 1 4:34 Yokohama, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–3 Manabu Yamada KO (punch) Pancrase: 1995 Anniversary Show[4] September 1, 1995 2 1:46 Tokyo, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–3 Bas Rutten Submission (kneebar) Pancrase: Eyes Of Beast 4 May 13, 1995 1 2:10 Chiba, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 2–2 Ken Shamrock Submission (arm-triangle choke) Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round December 16, 1994 1 4:23 Tokyo, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–1 Takaku Fuke KO (knee) Pancrase: King of Pancrase Tournament Opening Round December 16, 1994 1 2:48 Tokyo, Japan
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 1–1 Minoru Suzuki Submission (armbar) Pancrase: Pancrash! 1 May 31, 1994 3 0:36 Tokyo, Japan
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Minoru Suzuki KO (punch) Pancrase: Yes, We are Hybrid Wrestlers 3 November 8, 1993 3 0:52 Tokyo, Japan

Mixed rules

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Minoru Suzuki KO (punch) UWF U-Cosmos November 29, 1989 4 1:05 Tokyo, Japan

References

  1. ↑ NSAC report of K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Preliminary USA
  2. ↑ "Maurice Smith returns to the RFA to face TUF alum Ryan Lopez at RFA 3". onthemat.com. June 5, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Matt Kovacs vs. Maurice Smith". tapology.com. November 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Pancrase: 1995 Anniversary Show Official Results". mixedmartialarts.com. September 1, 1995.

External links

Preceded by
Mark Coleman		 2nd UFC Heavyweight Champion
July 27, 1997 - December 21, 1997 		Succeeded by
Randy Couture