The Squamish Chief editorial team has selected 10 top themes, events and issues for the year in our coverage. This story is one in a series of those.
After being branded a favoured UFC prospect for some time, Squamish fighter Cole Smith made his debut into the octagon this year.
Smith took on fellow Canadian Mitch Gagnon on May 4 during the UFC Fight Night 151 in Ottawa.
It was a remarkable recovery, and a performance that helped Smith secure a victory by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
The fight was a nail-biter.
During the last round of the match, Gagnon clipped the Squamish fighter on the jaw with a hard punch.
Smith staggered backwards, and within seconds, Gagnon was grappling on the ground with him. But Smith turned it around, working his adversary into a rear-naked choke. Viewers might say that Gagnon was saved by the bell.
It was a performance that was a long time coming for Smith. Prior to entering the most high-profile MMA fight league, Smith had been cutting his teeth with the B.C.-based Battlefield Fight League promotion. There, he tallied up an undefeated 6-0 professional record.
Matched against some of the province’s best, Smith pulled off convincing wins, which cemented him as the top local prospect to make it to the big leagues.
Smith would fight again this year, but would not be able to repeat his success.
In September, he took on American fighter Miles Johns at Rogers Arena, but lost via a split decision. Johns, another undefeated fighter, gave the Squamish athlete his first professional loss.
Johns was the favoured fighter going into the match. Every betting service on oddsshark.com listed him as the likely winner.
Much of the first two rounds was a grappling battle between the two fighters, with Smith often pinning his opponent to the cage.
However, in the third round, Johns felled Smith with a hard punch. Smith managed to stand up again, but Johns pursued him, landing a number of blows.
At that point, Smith was unable to take back control.
Nevertheless, in Squamish, many locals who watched the match stood by the fighter.
Speaking to viewers who crowded around the TVs at That Irish Place, it was clear that support for the athlete had not wavered.
