The first time Charles Kipilii Jr. met Louis Smolka was seven years ago in a parking lot at a local gym where Kipilii trained just a few mixed martial arts fighters.

“Honestly, I thought he was the dorkiest kid ever,” said Kipilii, who has trained Smolka ever since. “He said he wanted to train at the gym and I told him anybody can train over here, you just have to go and sign up.”

Appearances can be deceiving and Kipilii quickly learned he had something special in Smolka, 25, who made the jump from amateur status to UFC-ranked fighter fairly quickly.

The 125-pound flyweight is No. 12 in the division heading into his fight Saturday against Tim Elliot at UFC Fight Night in the Sprint Center in Kansas City.

Smolka (11-3 overall) is 5-3 in the UFC and coming off back-to-back losses. Elliot (14-7-1 overall) is just 2-5 with the organization, but is ranked No. 9 after winning the “Ultimate Fighter” reality show last year.

It earned him a title fight against pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson, who he lasted a full 25 minutes against, winning the first round on all three judges’ scorecards before losing by unanimous decision.

“I appreciate that (the UFC) is giving me a guy who just fought for a belt. It feels like a gift,” Smolka said. “I’m trying to take advantage of that and I don’t want to squander it.”

Smolka was on the fast track to a possible title shot against Johnson until getting derailed his last two fights in less than ideal circumstances.

Smolka got caught in a guillotine in the first round by Brandon Moreno, who took the fight on nine days’ notice after Smolka’s original opponent, Sergio Pettis, pulled out with an injury.

Two months later, Smolka was back in the cage against No. 4-ranked Ray Borg, who missed weight by a full 31⁄2 pounds.

Borg weighed in at 129.5 pounds to miss weight for the second time in six UFC fights.

Smolka accepted the fight at a catchweight and received 30 percent of Borg’s fight purse, but it left him at a clear disadvantage in the fight dominated by Borg in a unanimous decision.

Now Smolka has to fight Elliot in Elliot’s own backyard. Elliot was born in Wichita, Kan., and trains in Missouri.

“On paper it’s a hard matchup for me, but I feel like this is where I’ll do my best, with everything stacked against me,” Smolka said. “I choose to rise to the occasion.”

Growing up in Kapolei, Smolka practiced karate and became a fan of MMA, watching season two of the “Ultimate Fighter,” when Rashad Evans beat Brad Imes despite being 8 inches shorter.

Smolka, who is only 5-foot-9, found inspiration in that fight and wanted to do the same.

He spent years at Kipilii’s gym getting beat up by guys like Harris Sarmiento and Russell Doane, but kept taking it day after day until eventually he was able to give it back.

“He would take cracks and just keep going,” Kipilii said. “I always knew he had heart. Plenty people doubted him before and now look at him. He’s in the UFC wrecking guys.”

That doubt even came from his own family, who wouldn’t let him attend MMA fights at the Blaisdell Arena when Icon Sport/SuperBrawl was selling out the place.

It wasn’t until his second amateur fight, when he won an X-1 amateur championship, that his parents accepted his career path.

“They discouraged (training MMA) at every turn until I came home with a belt and they kind of shut up after that,” Smolka said. “I stopped catching heat for that.”

Smolka made his professional debut with Destiny MMA in Hawaii in 2012 and was picked up by Pacific Xtreme Combat, where he won four straight fights, before getting signed by the UFC.

He split his first two UFC fights that both went the distance before rattling off four consecutive victories, including an impressive TKO of Ben Nguyen at UFC Fight Night 91 last July.

The two losses since have been a major letdown that Smolka is trying to get past.

“Adversity makes champions and I’m trying to stay focused and not let it get to me too much,” Smolka said. “It’s sucked and (the circumstances) are annoying, but I’m trying to keep going forward because what else am I going to do with myself?”

Smolka’s fight against Elliot will kick off the televised portion of the prelim fights at noon Hawaii time on KHON.