Louis Smolka has an idea on how fighters can earn money during coronavirus quarantine

The event disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has deprived fighters of a means of earning. Louis Smolka, for one, had his UFC…

By: Milan Ordoñez | 3 years ago
Louis Smolka has an idea on how fighters can earn money during coronavirus quarantine
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

The event disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has deprived fighters of a means of earning. Louis Smolka, for one, had his UFC Columbus fight cancelled, along with his supposed paycheck.

With most countries imposing a quarantine on their citizens, Smolka came up with an idea on how his fellow fighters can earn money while on lockdown.

“We’re not going to try to kill each other or show everything we’ve got,” the 28-year-old bantamweight told MMA Fighting. “We’re just going to provide entertaining interactions for community sanity.”

Smolka seems optimistic about this plan, and hopes others would follow suit.

“I worry about the impact on the MMA community as a whole. Our ecosystem is not necessarily cut and dry like everybody else,” he said. “There’s a lot of gyms suffering from people not coming or canceling their dues. If people don’t show up, then they can’t pay their rent.

“If it works out for us, other gyms could do it, too, if they need the money.”

Shortly after, Smolka tweeted that his coach Colin Oyama gave the green light to have his sparring session streamed via Twitch on Saturday. However, Oyama later reached out to MMA Fighting, stating that local officials ordered the shutdown of their gym until March 31st due to the outbreak.

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About the author
Milan Ordoñez
Milan Ordoñez

Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments.

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