Devonte Smith was last seen in action at UFC 234, defeating Dong Hyun Ma by way of first round TKO.
The lightweight contender knows who he wants to battle next and that person is Francisco Trinaldo.
“I was the underdog [against Lowry]. I beat him in about three minutes,” Smith said to MMA Fighting. “Alright, people like, ‘Okay, cool. Maybe that guy had an off day.’ At my debut, I beat [Julian Erosa] in 46 seconds and he had way more fights than me. And he’d been [on The Ultimate Fighter]. Okay, they lookin’ at me a little bit more, but they like, ‘I don’t know.’ I go to Dong Hyun Ma, take him out in less than four minutes. So people are starting to actually, like, ‘Okay, I’m really starting to believe this is just what he does.’ And it is! I always tell people I’ve been KO’ing and finishing people since I started fighting in my amateur career. So me calling out Trinaldo, he’s a big, stocky, explosive guy, not only am I challenging myself, I’m ready to show all my skill set. It really doesn’t matter what rank you are, what’s your body type, what you do, how you do, where you train, your upbringing. You sign that contract, I’m beatin’ yo ass and I’m winning. Excuse my language, but I’m just being straightforward. And he’s a great matchup for me.”
Trinaldo last competed at UFC Fight Night Sao Paulo, defeating Evan Dunham by second round knockout.
Smith isn’t sure if Trinaldo will accept the challenge, but he plans on resting either way before stepping into the Octagon once more.
“Rest is a part of training, so I’m going to take my break,” Smith said. “I rest for at least three, four weeks tops — sometimes I don’t even rest a whole four because I’m still training, but I’m not going as hard. I go hard when I come out to Colorado, when I’m in Cleveland I’m just staying in shape and I’m enjoying my life and resting. If I get another fight in two months, that’s cool; if I get another fight in three months, that’s cool. But if I have to fight sooner, I will be in shape, but it has to be a smart move. It has to make sense. Because I’m not out here fighting just to fight. It’s got to make financial sense. It’s got to make career sense and it just has to make sense in general or I’m not doing it. I’m humble enough to be like, ‘Naw, I don’t want to take that fight.’ I don’t care if people look down on me for not taking this fight or that fight. They ain’t the one in there fighting and I get nothing but positive support, but I know there’s people out there — I just know how it is, I know how it works, and I’m just doing me. Because when I do me, I do great things.”
If the bout were to come together in the future, a possible event for the contest according to Smith would be UFC 237 this May.
