Louis Smolka: Casey Kenney ‘Going to See Something He’s Not Ready For’

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Louis Smolka will enter his UFC on ESPN 9 scrap with Casey Kenney this Saturday in Las Vegas as the more seasoned Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor despite being one year his junior. Though Smolka expects to be met with considerable resistance from an opponent who has lost just once in his last seven appearances, the Hawaiian does not anticipate requiring the judges’ services.

“I think it’s going to be a tough fight, but I do think that I finish him. I honestly think he might be underestimating me,” Smolka told Sherdog.com. “I’m a different fighter. You really don’t know what I am until you’re in there with me, and I don’t think he’s ready for it. Every time I go at it with someone the first time, they’re like, ‘What the f--- was that?’ I think he’s going to see something he’s not ready for. It’s just going to be everything: the pace, the movement, the situations that I use, the techniques, the way that I flow from one thing to another, the way I’m constantly attacking. I think it’s going to be a lot for him, and he’s not going to understand what’s happening to him as it’s happening to him.”

In this exclusive interview, Smolka discusses his battle with alcoholism, the changes he made to turn around his life and career, the continued rise of Hawaiian MMA and his infamous manscaping post on Instagram.