Sydney Smith is in the big league now.

On Friday, the 31-year-old Virginia fighter rose to the occasion in her Squared Circle debut at BKFC 42 in Greenville, SC, handing Andy Nguyen, the No. 2 contender in the women’s strawweight division, the first loss of her BKFC career.

Smith is a longtime fan of BKFC, so it was a dream come true to finally grace the Squared Circle – even in less-than-ideal circumstances.

“Some really crazy, serious things happened in my personal life that week, but I just rolled with the punches the whole time. I felt like the hand of God was on me because I was so calm the whole time,” she says.

“The whole Fight Week experience with BKFC was so surreal, even just being there. I felt really comfortable in there. I felt like I’m at home, and I really liked it.” 

Smith isn’t satisfied with her performance, but she does feel like she’s set the foundation for a longtime run under the BKFC banner. Now that she has her foot in the door with the fastest growing combat sports promotion in the world, she doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

“BKFC really is the most well-run promotion in the world,” Smith beams. “Everybody was incredibly helpful, humble and kind, and you didn’t have anything to worry about. I’m still processing it, because it was such a mind-blowing experience how smooth everything flowed.

“It’s incredible to be a part of.”