UFC flyweight Louis Smolka has found himself on a three fight losing streak inside the octagon. Most recently, the fighter suffered a unanimous decision loss to Tim Elliott. Now the fighter is set to face off against Matheus Nicolau Pereira and Smolka has decided to go about his training a little differently this time around.
Speaking on the Slip ‘n Dip Podcast, Smolka revealed that he has stopped drinking alcohol in preparation for his upcoming match up.
“I’m sober for the first time in a while, so that’s kind of nice,” The fighter said.
“I was just losing so I was like, I have to stop drinking. I pushed my luck hard enough.”
“It was working for a long time. I could just get drunk and still win. So, I was like, ‘Alright, I’m still winning, it doesn’t matter.’ So I guess I started losing and I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ve got to not drink now.”
“I would pretty much just black out until two weeks out, then I would stop for the weight cut,” explained Smolka.
“I guess I’m growing up a little bit. I was acting like a little child for a while, so I’m trying to grow up,” he explained.
“It’s a pretty big deal to get this win. I kinda need this one.”
Smolka is set to take on Matheus Nicolau Pereira at UFC 219. The event goes down Dec. 30 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Louis Smolka is not the first fighter to come forward with stories of substance abuse, as fellow Hawaiian B.J. Penn was in the media for having issues with substance abuse while dealing in a sexual assault case.
