麻豆社国产MMA fighter Cole (鈥淭he Cole Train鈥�) Smith might have ultimately lost his UFC fight on Saturday, Sept. 5, to American Hunter Azure, but he鈥檚 managed to keep the results in perspective.
鈥淔ighting in the best organization in the world, you can鈥檛 sulk on things too much,鈥� Cole said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to win, you鈥檙e going to lose. To compete in the UFC is a highlight. To get to this point is a dream come true.鈥�
While Cole had some strong moments at the Las Vegas match, Azure 鈥� a former high school wrestling champion 鈥� won in a unanimous decision with a score of 29-28.
鈥淚 was fighting a tough guy; a four-time champion wrestler,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e only fighting the absolute best in the world at this point. There鈥檚 no easy fights.鈥�
In the first round, Azure clipped Smith. 鈥淗e got a good shot, but I got up after that,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淗e used his wrestling a lot. He was very strong. He was hard to get up from.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 until the third round that Smith felt he got into his rhythm.
鈥淚 almost choked him out there in the third round, but he was a little too strong,鈥� Smith added.
While he knew going in that Azure would be strong at wrestling, Smith said he didn鈥檛 tailor his training to the fight specifically. 鈥淚 like to go in there and fight my fight as opposed to focusing on the other guy. I like to focus on what I can do instead of what he can do. That way, you perform a little better,鈥� he said.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith was no longer able to train for wrestling at Simon Fraser University like he had in the past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to find a lot of wrestlers here,鈥� he said.
But that wasn鈥檛 the only change caused by the ongoing pandemic. In order to travel to Las Vegas for the fight, Smith had to take a COVID-19 test before he left Canada then again when he arrived at his hotel.
鈥淭hey test you right away then for 24 hours you quarantine in the hotel,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s soon as the 24 hours are up, you come back downstairs and test your temperature again. Basically, you can鈥檛 leave the hotel at all.鈥�
After the fight, he also had to head back to his hotel before going straight home.
鈥淚 felt fine,鈥� he said about the safety measures.
Now back at home in Squamish, he is in the midst of a 14-day quarantine.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have too many options,鈥� he said with a laugh when asked how he plans to spend his time. 鈥淧lay Call of Duty. I have an infrared sauna, a whole room matted out so I can train. I can hit the bag here. There鈥檚 quite a few things here I can do. I set my house up pretty nicely, so I have a bit of a training facility.鈥�
While he doesn鈥檛 have any fights on the horizon, he鈥檚 hoping to head back into the cage in December.
In the meantime, he鈥檚 grateful for local support from the new Cork and Craft Taphouse, which showed his fight鈥攁nd he鈥檚 looking forward to the end of quarantine so he can visit Sunny Chibas again.
鈥淚 really appreciate the Cork and Craft Taphouse,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey made sure to show my fight. They invited 麻豆社国产in. I鈥檒l be working with them in the future to show all my fights.鈥�
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