UFC: Aaron Tau falls to unanimous decision loss in bid to earn UFC contract

Aaron Tau (right) was beaten by unanimous decision by Elijah Smith on Dana White's Contender Series. Photo / Getty Images

Aaron Tau’s quest for a UFC contract goes on.

In his headline bout on Dana White’s Contender Series on Wednesday, the Kiwi bantamweight suffered the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career as he was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against American Elijah Smith.

Tau grinned his way through the opening round but made a slow start as Smith fought well behind his reach advantage. Tau struggled to find a way inside, and Smith mixed his wrestling in well to take his Kiwi adversary down twice in the opening five minutes, though wasn’t able to hold Tau down for long.

Down a round on the scorecards, Tau made a stronger start to the second. He walked forward behind a tight guard in order to close the distance, beginning to have more success with his striking and showing his defensive grappling.

Things looked bad for Tau toward the back end of the second round when Smith appeared to have an anaconda choke locked in, but Tau didn’t panic and worked his way back to his feet to close out the closest round of the fight.

In the third, Smith was clearly fatigued and Tau took over. He ramped up the volume and hit Smith with plenty of good shots, but the American wore them well and was able to see the round out.

With two clear rounds in the fight, it came down the second in the eyes of the judges; all three scoring it in favour of Smith.

While it’s a setback for Tau, UFC president Dana White said he was open to giving him another shot down the road.

“I would never say no,” White said in the post-event press conference.

“He, in the first round, [did] a lot of showboating and goofing around, and he was getting picked apart. Then he came back dead serious in the second round and turned it into an absolute war.

“Most of these guys, if they keep winning and doing their thing, they find their way back here. The only thing with him is he’s 31 years old.”

White often notes he usually isn’t looking to sign prospects who have hit 30 unless, but a particularly impressive performance can swing things in the athletes’ favour.

The bout will have Tau firmly on the UFC’s radar moving forward though, and he could yet be offered a contract - be it as a short-notice replacement or a return to the Contender Series. He will, however, face the possibility of having to continue building his skillset on the local scene in his bid to earn another opportunity.

The result saw City Kickboxing-trained athletes go 1-2 on the Contender Series this year. Navajo Stirling earned a contract last week after a second-round knockout win, while Cam Rowston fell to a unanimous decision loss earlier in the season.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.