Jimmy Smith serves as a play-by-play commentator on Raw since May 2021. Prior to that, he was a mixed martial arts fighter with a record of 5 wins out of six total matches in his career.
Besides fighting, Smith also provided commentary for Bellator, UFC, and Premier Boxing Champions.
As someone who has been an MMA fighter and is now a commentator at the biggest professional wrestling company in the world, Smith knows a thing or two about the differences between working in the MMA and pro wrestling industries.
On his Unlocking The Cage podcast, Smith talked about choosing between WWE and UFC as a newcomer in the field. He answered a question that asked for his opinion on what it would be like to sign a contract with either company and where that will take a newcomer.
Smith said that signing with Dana White’s UFC can give you three chances at best to make it, while Vince McMahon’s WWE can do something for your career if they have enough faith in you (as transcribed by WrestlingNews.co):
“If Vince McMahon says, ‘We are going to make a star out of you,’ you will make more money and you will go further than you will anywhere else.
“Dana White can only say, ‘Here’s your chance.’ If you get your ass kicked twice, all that goes away.
“If Vince McMahon says, ‘We think you can be a great character and we can do a lot with you’, they are going to make sure their investment is protected. They are going to give you the right booking, the right opponents, and the right people to get you over.”
Smith then gave the example of Gable Steveson, who made appearances at WrestleMania 38. Smith said that WWE will give Steveson the right training and management so that he can be a “gigantic star” because the company has the ability to make someone’s career.
“The UFC can only go, ‘Here’s three fights.’ If you lose, that’s all over. Once Vince says, ‘You’re our guy. Here you go.’ First of all, that first contract is going to be worth a lot more money than the UFC’s contract,” Smith continued. “Number two, Vince McMahon, because of his faith in you or whatever it is, can give you all the opportunity in the world to fulfill that destiny. Dana White in UFC, because of the nature of it not being predetermined, can’t do that. I would sign with WWE.”