Maurice Smith: " The Biggest Deficit in MMA Athletes Arsenal Today Is, There Are No True Strikers."

Written by Brett Atchley
MMA Warlike Administrator
November 14,2010




I have known Maurice Smith for 15 years and I am proud to call him one of the closest friends in life that I have. I have gathered information regarding his life and career over that time and when the time is right, I will tell his story in it's entirety.However, there may be those of you out there who are not aware of who he is or what he has achieved and contributed to combat sports as a whole. When I say "combat sports", I mean exactly that. He is considered a legend in kick-boxing history as well as the marks he made in MMA that would forever change the sport in the way that would make atheletes, trainers and conditioning coaches change forever, the way they would train for MMA. From that, hybrid athletes were born. Mo', as Maurice is referred to today still contains knowledge that are second to none in terms of preparing athletes for comabat. His conditioning regiman is thorough,complete and diverse. Mo' grasped the theory of muscle confusion long before Cross-Fit and P90-X.I recently had a short email interaction with with highly regarded combat and political buff, Eddie Goldman about some particular topics. I brought up that Maurice could still be competetive in MMA today....Eddie replied, "Mo' will be 49 next month,come on. I love Maurice Smith but I don't buy it." In Eddie's defense, he along with very few others have seen Maurice around for a number of years except for being in Frank Shamrock's corner in the recent past. Mo' has definately been under the radar. I went on to assure him that Mo' is in the shape and appearance of an athelete 10 years younger. That school of thought from Mr. Goldman would stand to reason.The topic of the MMA Hall of Fame was broached recently and discussed in great detail on the Underground Forum. What brought it about was an interview that Maurice did on the "Joe Show Radio recently where he was asked if he thought he should be in it.






"The Hall of fame is does not represent the whole of the sportand athletes in it. It represents the UFC athletes. So, if it's decided by the powers that be, Dana (White) or whomever, that we don't belong in it, then that's what it is. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it as I'm sure neither are they. If they decide at some point that I belong or Frank (Shamrock)belongs in there then great. I do think that there should be a a legitimate Hall of Fame that could be composed by the fans and professionals in the sport."Maurice and I have had volumes of conversation about the the sport over the years and just recently he has started to pay attention to it at a more interested and vested level. He has very strong opinions about the the hype that is made by, what is referred to as "world-class" this and that.




"They say this guy is a "world-class" wrestler or he's a "world-class" kick-boxer or jiu-jitsu practioner. World-class is thrown out there for effect in terms of commentating and for the garden variety fan. What are their credentials? I'm going on record right now and saying that there are but a few,that I would call good strikers....."world-class"? I just have to laugh at it. I think GSP is a world-class ,well rounded athlete. BJ (Penn) is another, allthough he's got conditioning issues it seems. Anderson Silva is a better than average striker. Remember where Anderson came from. I see him as a late bloomer of sorts. He was just a good fighter in Pride or when he got here he stood out because of exceptional talent base. What does that say for the domestic pool? I think Cain Velasquez,is impressive. He's got a great ethic and I see him young and only getting better. His striking is there for sure. Javier told me a couple years ago about Cain. AKA is a gym that knows what true striking is and it's asset in an athletes arsenal. The other guy that really impresses me is Junior Dos Santos. The guy is a young, well-rounded fighter. His stand-up impressed me, I could only really see fault in his conditioning. I think Brock is where he needs to be right now. His last defeat was and will be more beneficial to him than a win."



We went around and around about this and debated about the "what abouts" and "what ifs". So I asked him point blank: "How do you would think you would do today against any of them?"



"Listen, I'm not saying I would beat all of them in the game today, but what I am confident in, is that I would be in the top ten in the world still to this day. As far as pure striking? There is not anybody in the MMA game that can stand with me.....even today. That, I am 100% confident in! That's where I see the biggest hole in training right now. A stand-up fight is what puts asses in the seats. That's the only thing that matters to the large promotions,when you get right down to it. I would be the guy to keep the people on their feet. As far as grappling? I'm pretty good and continue to work on it even today. I rolled with Ivan (Salaverry)the other day. Ivan is in his world when he's grappling and is good at controlling me. I'm not trying to submit him, I'm surviving and I do. It's not easy and I have to work hard but he doesn't catch me. Same with Frank (Shamrock), I'm just surviving, trying to wear them down and they should be able to handle me but in a stand-up scenario? I kick their ass."
We talked about a menutia of other topics as well and Maurice is never short of carrying a conversation. We talk about the chef, Gordon Ramsey,whom Mo' has the highest regard for.



Gordon Ramsey is great. He tells it like it is. He's good at what he does and knows how he wants his business done. If a person can't handle it then he basically tells them that they are no good and that his time is being wasted. What makes it worse is when they think they're better than him and he gets to put them in their place. He's on point."



Again the subject of giving credit where credit is due and the outcry on the UG that he has never been given it by "the establishment" which is the UFC.



Look, I have nothing against Dana White and to my knowledge, I have never given him a reason to not like me. Dana tells it like it is. Do people get offended? Yes, it's inevitable, but so what? The UFC is the brand right now. You know where you stand with him. I don't know why I haven't been called to compete. It's not because of my age, I feel great and feel like I can compete. There are no shortage of fighters that aren't my age competing today. Get me some fights and I'll stand behind what I say with conviction."
As I said before, the knowledge base and experiences that Maurice Smith has shared with me are invaluble to me and my understanding of the sport and how it works. He has a wide variety of interests and lives life in constant motion and happiness. I have never seen Maurice, in all my years around him depressed. He takes life in stride. He's confident and prideful of his legacy and makes it clear the the contributions to come regarding that legacy are far from completed. When I bring up the matter of a memoir, he laughs and reminds me that it would only be a half a memoir.



"I'm not finished at all. I've got alot of things left in my life that I'm going to do. I will always be involved in some capacity, in the fight game as a competitor,trainer, promoter or whatever but I'm more focused on building my image as a business man and I'm working on things in specific areas of unrelated industry that I believe will be the "next thing". The ideas I have, my freind are going to be huge. Watch and see."



As I was writing this up, I got a call from him over in Japan. We talked a bit and I told him I was in the middle of writing this piece about him. He laughed and replied that he thought that it was nice. His focus is on the other endeavor and the woman in his life that lives there. He, as always is a smart-ass with a quick sense of humor and a come-back. I emphasize the COME-BACK! The nay-sayers and the young generation pay no mind but, bear in mind anything can happen and given where Maurice has come from? Once he puts his mind to something, you can bet it will materialize. I've seen it happen.