Three wins and nearly one year since being cut by the promotion, Louis Smolka made a successful return to the Octagon as a bantamweight in the opening bout of UFC Beijing with a second-round submission over Su Mudaerji.
On his return!!@LASTSAMURAIUFC with the submission to get #UFCBeijing off to bang on @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/uIPa3JxnuJ
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 24, 2018
Smolka dominated the grappling exchanges up until the finish. After securing the second-round submission, an emotional Smolka discussed how overcoming an alcohol problem and the support of his family played a major part in his bantamweight win in Beijing.
“I had to make some really big changes in my life,” Smolka told Dan Hardy in the post-fight interview.
“I’m sure everyone knows I had a problem with drinking. I had a problem with alcohol. I had to quit everything. I moved up to California, I’m training with Team Oyama now. I gave up everything. I brought my daughter with me. This is for her, this is for Lucy, this is for Yumi, this is for you guys.”