Email   Print   Share By Daniel Cernero, Sentinel Sports Editor

Facebook Digg Delicious September 20, 2012 | Sports

Fort Hood Soldier Staff Sgt. Colton Smith attempts a choke against Jesse Barrett during the “fight-in” to join the cast of “The Ultimate Fighter” July 31 in Las Vegas, Nev. UFC courtesy photo

Staff Sgt. Colton Smith UFC courtesy photo

“The Ultimate Fighter” premiered Friday, and in the season’s first episode, Fort Hood Soldier Staff Sgt. Colton Smith won a “fight-in,” advancing as one of 16 fighters to officially make it onto to the show.

In the show’s 16th season, which features some of the top unsigned welterweight mixed martial artists, the fighters will compete on two teams, coached by professional heavyweight fighters Shane Carwin and Roy “Big Country” Nelson, the winner being awarded a six-figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

As Smith prepared to be on the show, which began filming July 31 with the fight-ins at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, he trained with the III Corps Combatives team, under the direction of coach Jarrod Clontz, as the Fort Hood team readied for the 2012 U.S. Army Combatives Championship.

Throughout the competition, from July 26-28, Smith helped coach the team’s fighters, all while cutting weight and mentally preparing himself to be on the show.

“From Day 1, the fight-in, the expectation is there for the fighter to be ready to go,” Smith said. “I was in great shape. Having Jarrod Clontz, the coach, making sure that we were doing almost 20 five-minute rounds a day on certain days, that definitely prepared me.

“And mentally, from being in the military and being an NCO

(noncommissioned officer), my mindset is stronger than most guys,” he said.

The morning following the combatives tournament, Smith boarded a plane to Las Vegas to begin his reality TV adventure. Smith said the fight-in experience was unlike anything he had ever come across in his professional fighting career.

“We were totally secluded,” Smith said. “We couldn’t have any outside interaction. They stuck us in a hotel room. We couldn’t use the phone. If you had to cut weight, they took you to a sauna off-location with no one around.

“Everything was really secret,” he added.

There was no scouting of the opposition, no familiar coach corning him for his fight, and the lights inside Mandalay Bay shined bright as the fighters competed in front of MMA icon Dana White, the UFC president, and the season’s two coaches, Carwin and Nelson.

Smith was truly on his own entering the Octagon for his fight-in against Jesse Barrett, and he said his nerves were at an all-time high.

“I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous. We all were,” Smith said. “At the beginning of it, and I didn’t mean to do it, but the guy went to touch gloves, and I didn’t touch gloves, and so I took him down with a double-leg.

“It wasn’t on purpose; it wasn’t malicious,” he added. “My nerves were flowing like crazy.”

Smith defeated his opponent after two five-minute rounds of fighting and gained entry into the house.

The incident, however, left a bad taste in the mouth of Nelson, who shared his opinion with Smith when selecting him as the fourth of his team.

“(Nelson) didn’t like me too much, because he thought I did that glove tap maliciously,” Smith said. “He didn’t like me too much, and he told me that after he picked me. But he knew I had talent. And he’s apologized since then.”

With filming wrapped until the live season finale Dec. 15, which will feature the fight between the two remaining contestants, and also a fight between the show’s judges, Smith was able to enjoy watching Episode 1 at the house of his training partner, Staff Sgt. Shane Lees, back in Central Texas.

“It’s kind of funny to watch reality TV and how they put a spin on it – it may not have happened just like how it looks like it happened,” Smith said. “They tweak it a little bit.”

Smith said he thought the glove-tap segment was a little over-hyped on the show.

“You guys will see throughout the season that I definitely make up for it,” he said. “I’m not a dirty fighter. I’m there representing our country, representing the United States Army, the men and women overseas and my Family. And that’s why I fight, that’s why I do this.”

Smith, unable to share how far he advances in the show, said the experience of “The Ultimate Fighter” was unbelievably positive.

“I definitely grew as a fighter, I grew as a person, I grew as an athlete,” he said. “It’s not easy. A lot of fighters look at ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and say, ‘Oh, these guys suck,’ or whatever else. I used to be the same kind of guy. But until you’re there and have experienced it, people can’t pass judgment, because it’s a hard thing to go through.”

Smith said his military background, having endured a lot of the hardships that face the fighters on the show – not having any contact with the outside world, not being able to see your Family – made it a situation he was able to thrive in.

“I’ve been through a lot in my military career, and it definitely prepared me for ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and praise the Lord that I’ve endured what I have during my time in the military,” he said. “That really gave me an advantage over the rest of the field.”

The 16th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” continues Fridays at 9 p.m. central time on FX.