Smith’s Fury FC debut was far from the norm. The Oklahoma State Cowboy took on Tommie Britton, who demanded the fight take place a weight class up at 185. The natural welterweight rolled his eyes and agreed. Weigh-in rolls around and Britton moved the bar even further demanding the fight take place at a catchweight of 194 pounds. Smith would roll his eyes yet again, shrug, and sign yet another bout agreement.
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The following day, Smith would put quite a beating on Britton.
Following the bout, the normally quiet Smith would get on the microphone and deliver the most captivating interview of the night to almost everybody’s surprise. As if his hands hadn’t given people a reason to remember his name, his mouth sure did, and there’s no chance an opponent misses weight against him again.
The only person who knew what was coming that night was long time teammate Nick Piccininni.
“I can see the writing on the wall with that guy, easily,” Piccininni said. “I’ve always seen it. I was on the same wrestling team with him, and you could tell. The world is just now seeing it. I’ve been believing in this guy, and I’ve been knowing about him. Same with myself.”
As if the time on the mat shared with Smith wasn’t enough, long after they’ve both graduated college and moved on to the world of MMA, Piccininni remain as close as they ever were. Bonded by the stress and sweat, Piccininni and Smith were likely to remain close regardless of what professions they went into, but now bound by a tandem journey into MMA, they’ve grown even closer.
“Now I actually live with Jacobe when he’s out here in California,” Piccininni said. “The dude is dope. He’s the man.”
The 60-second soap box Smith was on after his Fury FC 72 win introduced the world to a star with an infectious personality, something that may have surprised everybody but Piccininni.
“Obviously, the people on the outside may not know me, they may not know Jacobe, but me knowing him as well as I do, I know that that dude is great,” Piccininnit said. “For everyone else, hell yeah, you got to hear Jacobe Smith but, to me, that’s just Jacobe letting his mind free.”
Catch the return of Jacobe Smith at Fury FC 74 Sunday, February 5, ONLY on UFC FIGHT PASS!
