Amateur career Smith started fighting as an amateur in 2006 and quickly compiled a record of 35 amateur fights, winning every local promotion’s belt in Nebraska.
Early career Smith started his career in 2008 and fought mainly for local promotions in the
midwestern United States. He compiled a professional record of 13–7, with wins against
WEC veterans
Logan Clark,
Eric Schambari and losses to UFC veterans
Jake Hecht and
Jesse Forbes, before signing with
Strikeforce.
Strikeforce Smith made his Strikeforce debut on July 22, 2011, at
Strikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker III against Ben Lagman, replacing an injured
Louis Taylor. He won via KO in the second round. Smith faced
Adlan Amagov on November 18, 2011, at
Strikeforce Challengers: Britt vs. Sayers. He lost via KO in the first round. Smith faced Lumumba Sayers on August 18, 2012, at
Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman. He won via submission in the first round. Smith faced
Roger Gracie on January 12, 2013, at
Strikeforce: Marquardt vs. Saffiedine. He lost via submission in the second round. After the end of
Strikeforce, Smith moved to the
UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship In his debut, Smith faced
Antônio Braga Neto on June 8, 2013, at
UFC on Fuel TV 10. He lost the fight via kneebar submission in the first round. He was subsequently released from the
UFC.
Bellator MMA On April 18, 2014, Smith made his
Bellator MMA debut facing Victor Moreno at
Bellator 117 winning via triangle choke submission in the second round. Smith faced Brian Green on October 17, 2014, at
Bellator 129. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
Return to Ultimate Fighting Championship On February 16, 2016, Smith was re-signed to the UFC. He faced promotional newcomer Leonardo Augusto Leleco on February 21, 2016, at
UFC Fight Night 83, replacing an injured
Trevor Smith. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Smith was briefly scheduled to face
Scott Askham on July 8, 2016, at
The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale. However, Askham pulled out of the bout on April 28 and was replaced by
Cezar Ferreira. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Smith next faced
Elvis Mutapčić on December 3, 2016, at
The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. He won the fight via TKO in the second round and was awarded a
Performance of the Night bonus. Smith faced
Andrew Sanchez on April 15, 2017, at
UFC on Fox 24. He won the fight via knockout due to a combination of knee and punches in the third round. Smith faced
Héctor Lombard on September 16, 2017, at
UFC Fight Night 116. He won the fight via technical knockout in the third round. Smith faced
Thiago Santos on February 3, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 125. He lost the fight via technical knockout. Both participants received a
Fight of the Night bonus.
Move to Light Heavyweight Smith faced former champion
Rashad Evans in his light heavyweight debut on June 9, 2018, at
UFC 225. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. On short notice, Smith replaced
Volkan Oezdemir, and faced yet another former champion in
Maurício Rua on July 22, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 134 main event. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. This win earned him the
Performance of the Night award. In his third fight in five months, Smith faced
Volkan Oezdemir on October 27, 2018, at
UFC Fight Night 138. He won the fight by submission in the third round. This win earned him the second consecutive
Performance of the Night award. In the highest profile fight of his career, Smith faced
Jon Jones for the
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship on March 2, 2019, at
UFC 235. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Smith faced
Alexander Gustafsson on June 1, 2019, in the main event at
UFC Fight Night 153. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the fourth round. The win also earned Smith a
Performance of the Night bonus award. Smith was scheduled to face
Glover Teixeira on April 25, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night 173. However, on April 9,
Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed and rescheduled to May 13, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Teixeira. Smith lost the fight via technical knockout in the fifth round. Smith faced
Aleksandar Rakić on August 29, 2020, at
UFC Fight Night 175. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. He won the fight via a triangle choke submission in the first round. Smith faced
Jimmy Crute on April 24, 2021, at
UFC 261. He won the fight by technical knockout before the second round after the doctor stopped the fight when Crute suffered
foot drop as a result of a leg kick from Smith and was unable to continue. Smith faced
Ryan Spann on September 18, 2021, at
UFC Fight Night 192. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in round one. This win earned him the
Performance of the Night award. Smith faced
Magomed Ankalaev on July 30, 2022, at
UFC 277. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Smith was scheduled to face
Jamahal Hill on March 11, 2023, at
UFC Fight Night 221. However, Hill was pulled from the bout after being rebooked to instead face
Glover Teixeira for the vacant light heavyweight title at
UFC 283. Smith served as the backup for that fight, but missed weight by 1.5lbs. Smith faced
Johnny Walker on May 13, 2023, at
UFC on ABC 4. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Smith faced
Ryan Spann in a rematch on August 26, 2023, at
UFC Fight Night 225. He won the close bout via split decision. 9 out of 14 media outlets scored the bout for Spann. Smith faced
Khalil Rountree Jr. on December 9, 2023, at
UFC Fight Night 233, as a replacement for
Azamat Murzakanov who fell ill with Pneumonia. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. Smith faced
Vitor Petrino on May 4, 2024, at
UFC 301. He won the fight in the first round via a guillotine-choke submission. Smith was scheduled to step in on short notice to face
Carlos Ulberg on June 29, 2024, at
UFC 303, as a replacement for an injured
Jamahal Hill. However, one week before the event, Ulberg was forced to withdraw and was replaced by
Roman Dolidze. Smith lost the fight by unanimous decision. Smith faced former
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship title challenger
Dominick Reyes on December 7, 2024 at
UFC 310. He lost the fight by technical knockout via elbows and punches in the second round. Smith had his retirement fight against
Zhang Mingyang on April 26, 2025 at
UFC on ESPN 66. Smith lost the bout by TKO in the first round after the top of his head was cut open by a lead elbow.
Post UFC Smith faced
Chase Sherman in a bare knuckle MMA fight on April 10, 2026, in the main event of
Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 9 in the
Dominican Republic. He won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round. ==Professional grappling career==