Jacobe Smith has wrestled with Islam Makhachev, and he thinks he’d win that exchange the next time too. Smith told Uncrowned this week, ahead of his short-notice co-main event against Randy Brown at UFC Vegas 123, that he’s the best pure wrestler at 170 pounds, period. “I’ve wrestled with Islam, and I will out-wrestle him,” he said, extending the claim to everyone “from the champ all the way until to the last dude they signed, whoever he is.”
He did add a caveat, which is more than most guys in his position bother with. Smith said he isn’t the best wrestler on the planet, but in a no-punching, wrestling-only contest he doesn’t believe a single UFC welterweight beats him. Then he admitted the rest of MMA, the “extra stuff,” still has to be layered on top.
The Makhachev connection runs through California. Smith, a former standout at Oklahoma State, was introduced to fellow OSU alum Daniel Cormier by his wrestling friend Kyle Crutchmer, and he has since traveled west to train with Cormier, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Makhachev. Makhachev currently sits atop the welterweight division and holds the No. 1 spot in Uncrowned’s pound-for-pound rankings. Carlos Prates and Michael Morales fight for the interim 170-pound title at UFC 336 in January.
A Busy Month
On Sept. 24, Smith had nothing booked. Then he took a UFC 332 fight with Bruce Whitehead on nine days’ notice and finished the UFC newcomer by first-round TKO in 92 seconds. When Carlos Leal pulled out of his bout with Brown, Smith volunteered again, this time on 12 days’ notice, and landed in the co-main slot behind Renato Moicano and Tom Nolan.
The 30-year-old, who lives outside Dallas and trains at Fortis MMA, is 4-0 in the UFC with four finishes. He knocked out Preston Parsons in his debut, submitted Nico Price in the second round, stopped Josiah Harrell in the first and then flattened Whitehead. That’s after a Contender Series win over Christien Savole. He’s unranked, and he knows a win over Brown should get him a top-15 opponent.
Smith also has some inside information on Brown. He said Brown gave him sparring rounds when he was preparing for a canceled fight with Kevin Holland on the White House card. “Brown’s a long, rangy opponent that’s going to give me my toughest test up until this point,” Smith said, though he added that he’d already felt what Brown brings.
He has been the betting favorite in every UFC fight so far and will be again Saturday. He’s aware that the gambling crowd has made him a parlay staple, and he isn’t thrilled about it. “I don’t get the reasoning behind it, honestly,” he said. “It’s got nothing to do with me. I’m not benefiting off of it.”
Sal’s Take
I believe Smith can wrestle. I also note he hasn’t needed to in the UFC, which means the Makhachev line is a gym story and nothing more until somebody actually stops his first shot. Brown is the right kind of test because he’s long, he’s experienced and he has seen Smith up close in sparring, which cuts both ways. What bothers me more is the schedule. Two fights in three weeks with no real camp is the kind of thing that looks heroic right up until the night it doesn’t. Smith says he’s the one guy who isn’t cashing those parlays built around him, and he’s right. If you’re stacking him with 11 other favorites Saturday, you’re paying the vig on someone else’s highlight reel.
