Patrick Smith

Patrick Smith (August 28, 1963 – June 18, 2019) was an American kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He started his mixed martial arts career by participating in the first two Ultimate Fighting Championship events.

He was a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and also held a black belt in Hapkido, Kempo Karate, and Tang Soo Do. In 1993, Smith was ranked No. 1 as a Super Heavyweight Kickboxer in the United States and held a ranking of No. 5 internationally. He was the 1993 Enshin Karate Sabaki Challenge Heavyweight champion, an annual full contact karate tournament held in Denver which allows grabs, sweeps and throws, and competed in the 1993 Seidokaikan full contact Karate World Cup tournament in Japan.

Kickboxing career Patrick Smith first rose to fame in the US for his kickboxing prowess. In 1994 he entered the K-1 Grand Prix '94 where he caused one of the biggest upsets in K-1 history by flooring three times and subsequently knocking out legendary karateka and future K-1 star Andy Hug with an uppercut after just 19 seconds of the first round in their quarterfinal match. Smith was unable to build on this success as he was soundly defeated by eventual champion Peter Aerts in the semifinals. Some pundits, most notoriously Dave Meltzer, have expressed their belief that Hug's loss was a fight fixed in order to increase Smith's popularity.

After the Hug victory, Smith's K-1 career never took off. He lost to Andy Hug in a rematch at the K-1 Revenge event and then failed to qualify for the following year's K-1 Grand Prix at K-1 Grand Prix '95 Opening Battle. His last match in K-1 was against rising local star Musashi, a match he lost by KO, and he was released from his K-1 contract, finishing 1 and 4 with the organization. Despite little international success, Smith had more success at home, accumulating an overall 66-8 kickboxing record by the time he retired in 2000.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship Smith participated the first Ultimate Fighting Championship event, UFC 1, in November 1993. The event featured an eight-man single-elimination tournament with very few rules, awarding $50,000 to the winner. Art Davie, the promoter, placed advertisements in martial arts magazines and sent letters to anyone in any martial arts directory he could find to recruit competitors for the event. With the event being held in Smith's hometown of Denver, he was an easy addition. Smith's first and only match was against shoot wrestler Ken Shamrock, who took Smith down easily and submitted him with a heel hook. The fans in Denver booed heavily as they were unaware of the submission rules and were displeased with the fact that the match ended so quickly without a knockout.

Despite his loss, Smith's performance got him invited to UFC 2, now a 16-man tournament, where he entered with the expressed intent of a shot at the previous winner Royce Gracie. Smith had spent the time between shows working on his grappling to perform better on the ground, which paid off with a victory by guillotine choke against Ray Wizard in the first round. The peak of his performance, however, came technically through striking: after being pitted against ninjutsu fighter Scott Morris in the second round, Smith dropped him with knee strikes from the clinch, mounted him on the ground, and then unloaded barrage after barrage of punches and elbow strikes, completely knocking Morris out. This finish is considered one of the most brutal in the history of UFC. Smith next fought karate expert Johnny Rhodes, whom he submitted with a second guillotine choke after a brief exchange of hits. Finally, Smith reached the finals and his desired match against Royce Gracie, but it was short and one-sided, with Gracie taking him down and landing several palm strikes from mount before the kickboxer tapped out. Smith then followed with a takedown and gained mount position, and ultimately locked a rear naked choke when Moncayo tried to escape, making him tap out. However, Smith had to withdraw from the tournament due to stomach cramps caused by an injury sustained during the fight. He was replaced by Anthony Macias.

Post-UFC Smith went on to fight for K-1 and Bas Rutten's first three invitationals shows, as well as fighting on a few of the World Vale Tudo Championship (WVC) events showcasing No Holds Barred fighting. At WVC 3, Smith faced Fabio Gurgel in a match that became infamous for its unusual ending. Smith grabbed the ring ropes in order to avoid being taken down and struck Gurgel's spine repeatedly with his elbow, but crowd members approached and tried to take Smith's hands off from the ropes, prompting the match to be stopped. The referee consulted with promoter Sérgio Batarelli about the situation and it was decided to call off the fight and declare Gurgel the winner. In an elimination tournament of eight fighters at WVC 5 held in Recife, Brazil on 3 February 1998, Smith withdrew ahead of his scheduled semifinal bout against Igor Vovchanchyn after he suffered a broken hand in his quarterfinal win over Marco Selva.

On April 11, 2008, Smith came in as a late replacement for Gary Goodridge and defeated Eric "Butterbean" Esch via submission due to strikes in a "Masters Superfight" at YAMMA Pit Fighting's inaugural event.

On October 10, 2015, Smith came out of retirement at age 51 to fight Dave Huckaba at Gladiator Challenge - Collision Course. He was defeated via KO at 1:33 of round 1.

Sex offenses In 1999, Smith was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He was later arrested in 2008 after failing to register as a sex offender.

Death On June 18, 2019, Smith died of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the bladder and Sarcomatoid carcinomas variant of urotherlia (SVUC) at age 55.

Championships and accomplishments

Karate Sabaki Challenge Sabaki Challenge Heavyweight Champion

Kickboxing Karate International Council of Kickboxing KICK Super Heavyweight Champion

Mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC 2 Tournament Runner-Up UFC 6 Tournament Semifinalist UFC Encyclopedia Awards Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Scott Morris Record for most wins in one night by a Runner-Up (three) Tied (Royce Gracie) for most fights fought in one night (four)

Kickboxing record

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Sean Loeffler KO (head kick) Gladiator Challenge: Freedom Strikes

El Cajon, California, United States Loss

Dave Huckaba KO (punch) Gladiator Challenge: Collision Course

Lincoln, California, United States Loss

Kevin Jordan Decision (unanimous) American Steel Cagefighting 1: Battle of the Legends

Salem, New Hampshire, United States Win

Brad Imes KO (punches) Titan FC 13

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Aaron Winterlee Submission (neck crank) FM: Productions

Springfield, Missouri, United States Loss

Jeremiah Constant TKO (submission to punches) HRP: Snakebite Fight 2

Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States Win

Aaron Winterlee Submission (guillotine choke) Extreme Fighting League

Miami, Oklahoma, United States Win

Butterbean TKO (submission to punches and elbows) YAMMA Pit Fighting

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Derrick Ruffin TKO (punches) FM: Productions

Missouri, United States Win

David Tyner TKO (punches) Oklahoma KO: Nightmare in the Jungle 1

Adair, Oklahoma, United States Win

Scott Arnold TKO (punches) UGC 18: Xtreme Victory

Quebec, Canada Loss

Tom Clemens Submission (kneebar) XFS 5: Heavy Hitters

Boise, Idaho, United States Win

Brian Stromberg KO (punches) Xtreme Fight Series 3

Boise, Idaho, United States Win

Vernon Earwood TKO (knee and punches) RMBB: Hellraisers

Denver, Colorado, United States Win

Richard Gomez Submission (guillotine choke) Fightfest 6

Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Win

Allan Sullivan KO (punches) ROF 10: Intensity

Colorado, United States Loss

Marcus Silveira DQ (knees on a grounded opponent) World Extreme Fighting 5

DeLand, Florida, United States Win

Chuck Gale TKO (elbows and punches) Bas Rutten Invitational 3

Littleton, Colorado, United States Loss

Maxim Tarasov Submission (heel hook) IAFC: Pankration World Championship 1999

Moscow, Russia Loss

Moti Horenstein KO (head kick) Bas Rutten Invitational 2

Littleton, Colorado, United States Loss

Matt Asher TKO (punches) Bas Rutten Invitational 1

Littleton, Colorado, United States Win

Joe Grant TKO (submission to punches) Bas Rutten Invitational 1

Littleton, Colorado, United States Win

David Dodd Decision (unanimous) Extreme Challenge 22

West Valley City, Utah, United States Win

Tony Mendoza TKO (punches) ES: National Championships

South Dakota, United States Win

Marco Selva TKO (submission to punches) World Vale Tudo Championship 5

Recife, Brazil Loss

Marco Ruas Submission (heel hook) World Vale Tudo Championship 4

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Fabio Gurgel TKO (retirement due to fan interference) World Vale Tudo Championship 3

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Dave Beneteau TKO (submission to punches U: Japan

Tokyo, Japan Loss

Kiyoshi Tamura Submission (heel hook) K-1 Hercules

Nagoya, Japan Win

Rudyard Moncayo Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 6

Casper, Wyoming, United States Loss

Kimo Leopoldo TKO (submission to punches) K-1 Legend

Nagoya, Japan Loss

Royce Gracie TKO (submission to punches)

Win

Johnny Rhodes Submission (guillotine choke)

Win

Scott Morris TKO (elbows)

Win

Ray Wizard Submission (guillotine choke)

Loss

Ken Shamrock Technical Submission (heel hook) UFC 1

Denver, Colorado, United States

Professional boxing record

Loss

KO 1 June 13, 2009

Loss

TKO 2 August 4, 2007

Loss

TKO 2 February 2, 2007

Loss

KO 3 December 12, 2006

Loss

KO 2 August 26, 2006

Win

TKO 2 June 30, 2006

Loss

TKO 3 August 12, 2005

Loss

TKO 2 July 23, 2004 Agua Caliente Casino Resort Spa, Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.

Draw

PTS 6 June 11, 2004

Draw

PTS 8 May 27, 2004

Loss

KO 2 August 31, 1994

Loss

TKO 2 April 21, 1994

Win

KO 2 February 24, 1994

Win

PTS 6 January 12, 1994

Win

TKO 1 August 18, 1993

Loss

KO 2 March 20, 1993

Loss

TKO 4 February 14, 1993

Win

KO 1 May 12, 1992