Gilbert Smith’s Undivided Attention

Gilbert Smith entered his Bellator MMA debut on March 4 on the strength of a two-fight winning streak, a victor in four of his previous five bouts. However, trials outside the cage were interfering with his professional career. Smith met Fernando Gonzalez at Bellator 151, struggled through three lethargic rounds and lost a split decision. What was not known to most at the time was that the former Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion had been beset by distractions. Looking back, he admits his personal life was in shambles.“I wasn’t injured or anything like that, but I did have a lot of personal issues going into that that fight,” Smith told Sherdog.com. “When you’re a fighter, you lead two lives: your fighter life and your personal life. At that time, I was going through a lot of personal issues that affected me both mentally and emotionally. “I took the fight on short notice, too,” he added. “I fought that fight on pure guts. I had no strategy going in. I didn’t focus on my technique, and I just went in there to just fight him. My mind was elsewhere. I still came up with a split decision loss, and looking back on that fight and knowing what mental condition I was in, Fernando should have smashed me.” Smith claims to have resolved the issues that were hounding him and plans to return to the form that made him a champion on the regional circuit. He will be back in the cage at Bellator 162 on Friday, when he faces …

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