Effingham Magazine

The Art of Mixed Martial Arts

By Todd Wood | Featured Article, Homepage, June/July 2010

991 Like most Georgia fans, Nick Smiley would like to meet Hershel Walker. But Smiley won’t be looking for an autograph, rather he will be looking more to leave his name in the mind of Walker.
On January 30, 2010 the 47-year old Heisman trophy winner and former NFL running back won his MMA debut. Also, new to his professional career, Smiley was watching thinking about how he could exploit Walker’s weaknesses.
“He’s a name,” said Smiley. “I think it would be a fun matchup. He’s obviously from Georgia and I’m from Georgia. I’d like to exploit the holes in his game.”
With no formal traditional martial arts training, Smiley recently turned pro in late 2009 and immediately learned that mixed martial arts fighting is not just about knockouts and mauling your opponent.
After deciding to move from amateur status to professional, he trained just four months to prepare for his debut fight. He went into the fight feeling confident. In fact, by the beginning of the third round, he thought he had the fight won. But he would soon learn that a fight is not over until it is over.
Halfway through the third round the bell sounded, but Smiley’s arm was not being raised as the victor. Instead his opponent had won by knock out.
“I was feeling good in the fight. I had definitely won the first two rounds and I thought I had the fight won,” said Smiley. “I made a mistake and I slipped. My opponent took advantage of it and just like that, the fight was over.”
More disappointing to Smiley was that his opponent had not landed a kick or punch for the knock out. Rather, his opponent was driving him to the canvas, and when Smiley’s head hit the mat with the force of his 265-pound frame behind it, he was out.
“I needed to train harder,” said Smiley of his first fight. “My cardio and conditioning was not where it needed to be. Had I trained harder, I know I would have won.”
His evaluation of himself would payoff. He trained for the next three months for his second professional fight. This time, he won by knockout in the second round.
“My head was a lot more clear going into that fight,” he recalled. “I knew I was in better shape, and I had a better game plan.”
A game plan is everything to an MMA fighter according to Smiley. Fighters can win by decision, t.k.o., k.o., tapout and chokeout. “The best guy isn’t the biggest, fastest or strongest,” added Smiley. “The best guy is the one that is in the best condition and has the best game plan.”
Smiley’s career in combat sports began eight years ago. He says he was just a young boy growing up getting in fights. “I knew I had to do something with my aggression before it got me in trouble,” says Smiley. “That’s when my uncle said I should train and try to make money fighting.”
Originally training to be a boxer at Jarrell’s Gym in Savannah, Smiley quickly became interested in kickboxing. Shortly thereafter he began training at Statesboro Karate with Barry Clifford.
About four years ago, he started training to become an MMA fighter. Over the years as an amateur, he compiled a 9-2 record. He was beginning to love the sport more and more. With 11 fights under his belt, he was also gaining notoriety and attention from sports management companies. However, right before he would turn pro, Smiley would reach another milestone in his fighting career. In September of 2009 he won the United States amateur Kickboxing Championship, held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“That played a big part in my confidence and progression into my transition from an amateur MMA fighter into a professional,” said Smiley.
He eventually signed with Mammoth Sports and Entertainment, a company based out of California. The company also has a gym in Athens where Smiley has been going off and on to train in recent months.
Smiley loves his home in Effingham. But in recent months the need for him to train at a reputable MMA gym has been a must if he is to progress as an MMA fighter. Under his managers’ (Rory Singer and Andrew Beach) advice, Nick will be headed to train in a well-known MMA gym where the likes of Forrest Griffin and Brian Boles got their start.
The HardCore Gym in Athens, Georgia will be his new home and place of training. “It’s listed as one of the Top 20 MMA gyms in the country,” says Smiley. “I’m taking the entire summer off from fighting to train and focus on the technical aspects of fighting, and this is the place to do it.”
These days MMA fighting has received much attention and criticism from fans and protesters a like. A sport that is often criticized as being inhumane and dangerous, Smiley feels it is the truest form of competition out there.
“In a way it is brutal and violent,” admitted Smiley. “But, we’ve never had someone die in the cage, whereas in boxing fighters die every year.” He continued. “This is the purest form of competition we know. We’re in there doing it because it’s something we love one-hundred percent. The day you lose the slightest interest in the sport is the day you have to get out. This is all or nothing.”
Smiley takes his wife, Straten, and two children with him to Athens where they will make their knew home while he chases his goal of becoming one of the best fighters in the sport.
“I am 1-1 professionally. I do not want to lose another fight for a long time,” he concluded.