Once a UFC headliner, UFC flyweight Louis Smolka finds himself in a must-win position and is making a few major life changes to tilt the odds in his favor.

In 2014, Louis Smolka (11-4, 5-4 UFC) began an impressive run through the flyweight division, notching a four-fight win streak with three finishes. After his win over Neil Seery at UFC 189, the same night UFC fans saw Conor McGregor hoist a UFC title for the first time, Smolka found himself in a headlining slot at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin, Ireland after Joseph Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier fell out days before the event.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, Smolka finished Paddy Holohan by submission in the second round of an entertaining fight. To make it four in a row, Smolka would score a brutal bonus-earning TKO finish of Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 91 in July of 2016. Things have not gone well inside the Octagon for Smolka since that moment.

The Hawaiian native has dropped three fights in a row against the top contenders in the 125-pound division, forcing Smolka to take a long look in the mirror.

When things start to go south for fighters, they may switch up camps or try their luck at a new weight class. For Smolka, the major change he’s making while he prepares to take on Matheus Nicolau at UFC 219, is to quit drinking.

“I’m sober for the first time in a while, so that’s kind of nice,” Smolka casually stated while speaking on the Slip ‘n Dip Podcast.

Drinking alcohol during fight camps was a staple of his fight preparation in years past. However, since the wins have stopped coming, admittedly, perhaps putting the drinks down is in the best interest of his career.

“I was just losing so I was like, I have to stop drinking. I pushed my luck hard enough,” Smolka said.

“It was working for a long time. I could just get drunk and still win. So, I was like, ‘Alright, I’m still winning, it doesn’t matter.’ So I guess I started losing and I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ve got to not drink now.”

Just how much was Smolka drinking in the lead up to his fights? Was he going hard on the weekends or drinking every single day of fight camp?

Usually, a full fight camp for a mixed martial artist begins six weeks out from the fight, with weight cutting being a heavy focus in the final week or two, depending on the athlete and the amount of weight needing to be cut. Smolka admits he was drinking heavily for four of those six weeks.

“I would pretty much just black out until two weeks out, then I would stop for the weight cut,” explained Smolka.

It is incredible that Smolka was able to put his body through tough training camps while drinking heavily, only to sober up when it was time to begin cutting weight. With everything else going well for him in Hawaii with his camp and training partners, alcohol is not invited to this training camp, which is probably for the best to perform at a high level.

Putting down the drinks is a part of the maturation process for Smolka, who has found a renewed focus on what’s important in his career.

“I guess I’m growing up a little bit. I was acting like a little child for a while, so I’m trying to grow up,” he explained.

After recently opening a new gym in Hawaii where he teaches children martial arts and being a father of a beautiful daughter, his outlook on life has changed. Not only does he feel a new sense of responsibility to those looking up to him, he is focused on success inside the Octagon to be able to provide for his family.

“It’s a pretty big deal to get this win. I kinda need this one.”

If successful at UFC 219 in Las Vegas, Smokla promises to use his time on the microphone to continue the push for the UFC to make its first trip to Hawaii, a movement made famous by the UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway.

With a new focus on sobriety and success, we may see the best version yet of “Da Last Samurai” inside the Octagon on December 30, 2017.