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RFA 24 headliner Ben Smith eying UFC run after "pivotal" title fight with Tat Romero
Mar 4, 2015 - 8:20:10 PM RFA 24 headliner Ben Smith eying UFC run after "pivotal" title fight with Tat Romero

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

As he prepares to fight for the vacant RFA Welterweight Championship this Friday at RFA 24, Ben Smith is cognizant of the larger implications of his fight with Tat Romero.

The 34-year-old has compile a 13-2 record since deciding to start fighting in his late 20s, and he thinks the goal he had in mind when he got into the sport is very close to fruition after Friday's event.

"I'm about to be standing on a stage, a platform that usually propels people into the UFC. Very consistently that's what it does for guys," Smith commented to MMATorch this week. "[For] RFA's Champions generally the next step is to go fight the big boys. Obviously that's everybody's dream when they get into fighting, there isn't anybody who doesn't want to fight in the UFC, unless you talk to maybe Ben Askren, but I think that's a lie."

"...I thought that it would happen a lot sooner, or I hoped that it would, didn't really understand the real nature of what I was getting myself into," he continued, when talking about his decision to start fighting at 29. "I think the kind of naive guy back then that was getting into MMA thought 'ah, hopefully I can get into the UFC in six months.' That's what was going through my mind. Six years later, I'm still not there. But I've come a long way. I've put a lot of time, I've put a lot of effort, and along with my family, have made a lot of sacrifices. It's a really pivotal time, it's a really pivotal fight."

Though he's only had half the fights of Romero into Friday's main event on AXS TV, Smith was far from impressed with Romero's last outing. Given what he saw there, he doesn't think he's going to have much issue winning this fight if Romero shows up in similar shape.

"I thought his last fight - I don't know what kind of shape he's in now, I don't know how he's prepared for this fight, but if it's anything near his last fight, he looked really bad," Smith said. "He looked slow, he looked out of shape, he looked like he gassed real quick. He needs to bring something better to the table if he wants to compete with me in this fight, because I'm feeling great. I'm ready to go."

The end game for Smith is a successful run in the UFC. Despite his late start, he feels great physically into his most high profile fight to date, and understands that transitioning into the UFC would make continuing this career more feasible for him and his family.

"A loss right now would be very tough. But I think getting into the UFC, fighting there, as long as I'm successful out of the gates I think I could go for a long time," Smith said. "It's not really so much the age, because my physical position in this fight game, I'm in great shape, and I could physically keep going for a long time, I'm sure."

"I guess what's challenging for me is the economics of it," he continued. "You know, we're not making really any money operating in the minor leagues. It's a grind, it's kind of a starving artist lifestyle. It is tough for everybody else, I'm not unique in that. That grind can only go on so long, and I've got a new addition to our family that's counting on me."

"So we'll see, man. As long as I'm winning I'm going to keep fighting indefinitely."