Someone’s O has got to go on Saturday night, undefeated welterweights Jacobe Smith and the debuting Josiah Harrell meet at UFC Houston.
Smith (11–0, 8 KOs, 1 SUB) is 2–0 inside the UFC and is riding a second-round submission of Niko Price last June. Harrell (11–0, 6 KOs, 4 SUB) makes his first trip to the Octagon on a little over a week’s notice, yet he’s coming hot on the heels of a third-round TKO of Bekmyrza Dosmatov in LFA just last month.
Smith enters as a -298 moneyline favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Harrell sits as a +240 underdog.
Smith vs. Harrell Preview
Jacobe Smith
It would be difficult to start a UFC career better than Jacobe Smith has. A 30-year-old Dana White’s Contender Series graduate, “Cobe” burst onto the scene with a 73-second knockout of Preston Parsons in his Octagon debut in January 2025. He amplified the momentum in June with a second-round submission of veteran Niko Price at UFC 317.
Standing 5-foot-10 with a 72-inch reach, the undefeated southpaw boasts an 82% finish rate with seven first-round KOs — pairing lightning pace with thunderous power. Smith has averaged 6.21 significant strikes per minute across his two UFC bouts and lone DWCS appearance, where he landed 7-of-8 takedown attempts en route to a second-round knockout of Christien Savoie.
Josiah Harrell
Despite stepping in on short notice, Josiah Harrell’s first trip to the Octagon has been years in the making. The 27-year-old former All-Ohio wrestler was initially slated to make his UFC debut against eventual welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 290 in July 2023. However, a pre-fight medical exam revealed a rare brain condition that forced him to withdraw from the bout and undergo brain surgery.
“Muscle Hamster” returned to competition in 2025 with a blistering run in the Ohio Combat League before making a successful jump to LFA, where he defeated Bekmyrza Dosmatov via corner stoppage TKO in January. Standing 5-foot-7 with a 68-inch reach, the southpaw grappler now heads to the Octagon for the first time with 10 of his 11 wins coming by stoppage — including six knockouts and four submissions.
He also speared a dude through a cage once.
Smith vs. Harrell Pick, Best Bet
Want to know what’s better than a redemption story? One that has a legitimate shot at happening.
After a prolonged detour, Harrell finally arrives at the UFC’s doorstep all the wiser, having picked up four additional wins along the way — and recognized that, after all he’s been through, he truly has nothing to lose.
While Smith has looked formidable inside the Octagon, he was training for someone else entirely before last week. And if he can’t finish the job early, the indomitable Harrell should take over in the later rounds and punctuate the ultimate comeback story with an improbable upset.
