AFTER 'TUF 16' CHAMPIONSHIP, COLTON SMITH CONSIDERING DROP TO LIGHTWEIGHT
BY DANN STUPP AND JOHN MORGAN ON DEC 16, 2012 AT 10:30 AM ET

LAS VEGAS – After defeating a string of welterweights and winning the 16th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Colton Smith is considering a new weight class.

Smith shut out Mike Ricci on Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale to win the 32-man tournament.

But unable to finish Ricci, a fighter who's also expected to drop to lightweight for his next, Smith realizes his size may be a disadvantage at 170 pounds.

Smith (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Ricci (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) co-headlined Saturday's FX-televised event at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Smith fought from close quarters, scored frequent takedowns, and smothered the Tristar Gym fighter en route to a unanimous-decision win (via 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 scores).

But he couldn't get the finish.

"Mike Ricci is an extremely tough opponent," he told MMAjunkie.com. "I knew he was tough coming in. He's a very precise striker. You can't make a mistake with him. He'll knock you out. We saw that during the show. He's a 155-er and fought a bunch of 170-ers and did an awesome job on the show."

Ricci, in fact, was a 2-to-1 favorite heading into the bout. He had previously fought for Bellator, and while dominating the Canadian fight circuit, he picked up a 2009 win over Strikeforce contender Jordan Mein.

Smith knew he didn't want to stand and trade with the striker, and though he knew he it might not be the flashiest of game plans, he had hoped it'd lead to a finish.

"I knew my pressure and my wrestling were definitely going to play a factor in it," he said. "My jiu-jitsu I figured would play a factor. But I couldn't get the finish. He's an extremely tough guy. I just had to keep wrestling. I couldn't have any separation. My hat's off to him. I couldn't get the finish, but I tried my ass off."

Smith, an Army Ranger and based out of Fort Hood, Texas, currently trains with the likes of Strikeforce fighter Tim Kennedy and undefeated UFC prospect Andrew Craig. He said he's beaten up daily by the bigger fighters, so despite his success on "TUF 16," he knows he may need to go smaller for his UFC career.

"Absolutely there's a possibility of me moving down," he said. "Especially if Tim Kennedy moves to 170, then I'm definitely going down to 155."