Tom O'Connor on Tim Smith fight "Going to put on a show"

Tom O’Connor on Tim Smith fight “Going to put on a show”

Tom O’Connor tests skills with Tim Smith at Unified MMA 46 on September 23rd.

O’Connor appeared once again on Bowks Talking Bouts and covered several subjects before this fight. Excerpts from our chat are below.

Tom O’Connor

Thoughts on Tim ‘Shady’ Smith as an opponent

“It’s a really cool and interesting fight for sure this time. Just because the MMA world in general is a small world. We cross paths with people all the time and stuff. But I’ve never had it to this degree where so many people I know have been around Tim ‘Shady’. Speak highly of him and talk about him. Oh I know him, I’ve trained with him. I’ve had like friends too and people I know like hey, sorry Tom I can’t pick sides on this one. So I tell them the same thing. I don’t expect you to, don’t pick sides. Me and Tim are going to put on a show. So sit back and enjoy.”

“At the end of the day when you’re a fight fan, you know what it is. Tim knows what he’s signing up for. I know what I’m signing up for. So let’s go to war and just put on an awesome show for the fans. For all of our friends and all the other martial artists that love watching good fights. That last Unified we both fought back to back, right. Two awesome fights and I think a lot of the hype that came off that last show is carrying forward into our fight.”

Unified MMA 46

The overall MMA resume and championship pedigree in Unified MMA that Smith brings

“Just that alone like the experience he has. He’s been through all types of different fights. Been through tactical fights. Just been through dog fights, through wars. There’s not much he hasn’t seen in terms of how the fight can lay out and go. So he’s not going to quit in any moment. You’ve got to finish a guy like that which is what I plan to do. That’s always my gameplan. I’m not looking ever to ride out to a decision. I’m looking to go in there and finish the guy. If I can’t do that, I fail anyways. I think just the experience level of him really makes this fight super enticing.”

Tom O'Connor
Photo via unifiedmma on Twitter
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Dylan Bowker
I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.