One notable omission from the Scouting report was Pennsylvanian 145/155 lb prospect, Jeff Smith.

Background

At 23 years of age, Smith hails from the Blackman MMA camp in Harrisburg PA along with TUF14 alumni Dennis Bermudez and Dustin Pague.

Smith wrestled a little in high school but chose to focus mainly on football. In 2007 he took up MMA to "stay-in-shape" and under the tutelage of former professional wrestler Steve Blackman, Smith has evolved to become a crafty submission specialist, with 13 of his 15 overall wins coming via submission.

Amateur career

Smith went 6-1 as an amateur finishing all 6 of his opponent via submission. His only loss was a UD to Tyler Bowers in 2008

Professional career

The only blemish on Smiths record was in his first professional outing, where he knocked himself unconscious attempting to slam one-time Strikeforce combatant John Selgado who submitted Smith for his troubles.

Since that time Smith has amassed 9 consecutive victories, 7 via submission.

What has been most impressive about Smith's development has been his ability to continue to find a way to victory as the quality of his opposition has increased.

In January 2011, Smith showed plenty of resilience to grind out a decision victory over undefeated opponent Jon Washington.

In November 2011, he defeated Cody Stevens in a tough battle that again shows Smith has the steel to get the job done.

The future

Unlike 2 of his team-mates, Smith has been unsuccessful in previous attempts to secure a spot in the TUF house despite making it to the final interview stages.

Smith's management have been in contact with the UFC in the past and it seems that it is only a matter of time before we will see Smith under the UFC banner in some capacity if he continues to win fights.

With TUF 15 featuring 155lb fighters, I think there is a possibility we will see Smith fight his way into the house at 155lbs. Wlaking around a 160lbs, Smith may be better suited to eventually move down to 145lbs.

Either way, with age on his side, a finishers instinct and a 9 fight win streak behind him, there is little doubt we will see 'the submission technician' in the octagon at some point in the future.