Elijah Smith needed one minute to do something nobody else has managed against Davey Grant, and then he used his post-fight interview at UFC Vegas 124 to tell everyone his contract was done.
“I’m a free agent,” Smith said after the finish on Saturday, Nov. 7. “That’s been the talks around this whole fight week. I’ll be talking to you guys shortly.”
The bantamweight prospect wasn’t kidding about the timing. On his way out of the Octagon, Smith was seen in conversation with Hunter Campbell, the UFC’s chief business officer and the man who handles the promotion’s biggest contract dealings. Asked about it at the post-fight press conference, Smith kept it vague but clearly optimistic.
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“It was a good exchange and I feel like we’re on to something,” he said, via MMA Junkie. “Probably something big might come up, that’s what I’m expecting so he just gave me props on the fight and we’ll see what happens after that.”
MMA Junkie also posted on X that Smith expects a new contract and “something big” next. What that means exactly, nobody has said. A better deal seems like the obvious read, though a bigger platform for his next fight would make sense too.
How he got here
The Grant win was the last of a four-fight deal, and Smith walked away from it 4-0 in the UFC with three finishes. Saturday’s knockout earned him his second Performance of the Night bonus. The first came when he slammed Toshiomi Kazama into a stoppage, which tells you this kid has more than one way to end a night early.
Grant is the kind of opponent who usually exposes young fighters rather than gets stopped by them. He came in with 17 trips to the Octagon on his résumé, and until Saturday, none of them had ended with him knocked out. Smith is 24.
All four of Smith’s UFC fights have landed on Fight Night cards, which is part of why the “something big” talk feels earned instead of wishful. He hasn’t yet been showcased on a numbered pay-per-view main card. After this, he probably should be.
Smith didn’t say whether it was his call or the UFC’s to hold off on contract talks until after the Grant fight. Either way, he spent fight week knowing his future with the promotion wasn’t locked in, which is a lot to carry into a matchup with a veteran. He carried it fine.
Quick take
I’m usually the first to groan when a prospect gets crowned after a handful of wins against people you have to Google. This one is different, because Davey Grant isn’t a name you Google. He’s a guy who has made a long career out of being hard to put away, and Smith put him away in 60 seconds while playing out the final fight on his deal, which is the riskiest way to negotiate there is. He bet on himself and the bet paid in full. Four wins is still four wins, and bantamweight is a meat grinder that has humbled plenty of unbeaten 24-year-olds. But if the UFC lets this kid shop himself around after the night he just had, somebody at the company should have to explain why. Campbell already walked over to talk. The next move belongs to the matchmakers.
