LOUIS SMOLKA CONTINUED his rise up the UFC’s flyweight division with a submission defeat of Paddy Holohan this evening at Dublin’s 3Arena.
Smolka forced the tap from Holohan via rear-naked choke after 4:09 of the second round in the main event at UFC Fight Night 76, giving the Dubliner his first defeat in three outings.
It rounded off a mixed night of results for the Irish. Holohan’s SBG team-mate Cathal Pendred was also defeated, but there were big wins for Aisling Daly, Neil Seery and Norman Parke.
Both accomplished grapplers, Holohan and Smolka spent the vast majority of the first round on the canvas and there were some fascinating exchanges, as the pair seemed to attempt almost every submission in the book over the duration of the fight.
Holohan went very close to securing the stoppage with a rear-naked choke in the second round but Smolka did excellently to escape.
But it was the Hawaiian who eventually succeeded with the same submission. Smolka shook Holohan with strikes on the ground before taking his back and locking in the rear-naked choke to secure the win.
“I never said I was the best or that I was born gifted, but when I do come out I give you everything,” said Holohan. “This week has been crazy. Hats off to Louis, he came here and beat me in my own back yard.”
Smolka said: “It was surreal. I know you guys might hate me right now but I love you. Let’s party later with some Jaegers and some whiskey. Thanks for coming out and supporting me. You guys have amazing energy.”
