Jacobe Smith slides into UFC debut on short notice vs. Preston Parsons
Former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout Jacobe Smith will finally take a step up to the biggest of leagues.
With Andreas Gustafsson out for undisclosed reasons, Smith (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will slide in vs. Preston Parsons (11-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC) on short notice. The welterweight bout takes place Jan. 11 at UFC Fight Night 249 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie the new fight is agreed upon but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Smith, 28, made his MMA debut straight into the professional ranks in 2021. Initially training out of American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), Smith and teammate Nick Piccininni moved to Dallas to train under coach Sayif Saud at Fortis MMA. Smith racked up six finishes in his first eight professional fights before an dominant UFC contract-earning stoppage of Christien Savoie on Dana White’s Contender Series in October.
Parsons aims to bounce back from a July loss to Oban Elliott that continued his promotional career-long stretch of alternating losses and wins. Parsons holds victories over Evan Elder and Matthew Semelsberger thus far in his UFC tenure.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 249 lineup includes:
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Ribas
- Carlston Harris vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Cesar Almeida
- Chris Curtis vs. Roman Kopylov
- Austin Bashi vs. Christian Rodriguez
- Uros Medic vs. Puna Soriano
- Ihor Potieira vs. Marco Tulio
- Thiago Moises vs. Trey Ogden
- Preston Parsons vs. Jacobe Smith
- Nicolle Caliari vs. Ernesta Kareckaite
- Magomed Gadzhiyasulov vs. Bruno Lopes
- Victoria Dudakova vs. Fatima Kline
- Nurullo Aliev vs. Joe Solecki
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 249.