Cameron Smotherman is shooting his shot.
MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck confirmed with sources with knowledge of the change that Smotherman (11-4) is stepping in on less than a week’s notice as a replacement for Brady Hiestand to fight Jake Hadley (11-3) this Saturday at UFC Vegas 99. The reason for Hiestand’s withdrawal was not disclosed.
MMA Mania was first to report the new bantamweight matchup.
Smotherman, 27, has fought almost exclusively for Fury FC, with his lone venture outside of the promotion taking place on Dana White’s Contender Series matchup. In that August 2023 encounter with Charalampos Grigoriou, “The Baby-Faced Killer” fell short in his quest for a UFC contract after losing by 60-second TKO.
To call Smotherman’s pre-UFC career eventful would be an understatement, as he has made Missed Fists headlines several times, including an entertaining rant against a dissenting judge, a Tyson Fury-esque comeback victory after nearly being KO’d, and a clutch flying knee that likely saved him from losing a bantamweight title. Now he gets his chance to make waves in the octagon.
Hadley also had a rough go of it on the Contender Series, missing weight but going on to be signed anyway after defeating Mitch Raposo in a flyweight bout. His weight cut troubles have persisted as he recently missed weight for a bantamweight bout against Caolan Loughran and again went on to win. His UFC record stands at 3-3.
