Tag: UFC Fight Night 192

UFC Fight Night 192 bonuses: Anthony Smith’s submission, Nate Maness’ comeback TKO among winners

Check out which fighters took home a bonus for their performances at UFC Fight Night 192 in Las Vegas.

The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card. Four individual fighters took home “Performance of the Night” bonuses, including another powerful finish from Joaquin Buckley and a main event first-round finish by Anthony Smith.

UFC Fight Night 192 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the $50,000 winners below.

Photo: Devin Clark’s teeth got mangled in loss to Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 192

Devin Clark wasn’t kidding when he said he has an issue with his teeth at UFC Fight Night 192.

[autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] wasn’t kidding when he said he had an issue with his teeth mid-bout against Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night 192.

Clark (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Cutelaba (16-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) in Saturday’s light heavyweight co-main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. He nearly got finished in the first and second rounds, but in the third got a little respect back to push it the distance.

He almost didn’t come out for that Round 3, though, because in between rounds Clark told his corner he was having an issue with his teeth. They had some discussion about whether he can come back out to finish the fight, and ultimately the fighter and his coaches agreed to do so.

No one knew at the time exactly what the issue is, but now some photos have shed some life.

UFC photographer Jeff Bottari (via Getty Images) took a shot that showed the inside of Clark’s mouth where his gums and teeth were badly disfigured. Check it out below, but it’s not for the faint of heart (via Twitter):

With the defeat, Clark suffered consecutive losses for the first time in his career. He showed his incredible toughness, though, and was involved in one of the better fights at UFC Fight Night 192.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Twitter reacts to Anthony Smith’s thrilling finish of Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 192

See the top Twitter reactions to Anthony Smith’s win over Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 main event.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] showed he’s still a viable light heavyweight contender on Saturday when he defeated [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 192 main event.

Smith (35-16 MMA, 11-6 UFC), a former UFC title challenger, picked his third consecutive victory courtesy of a first-round submission win over Spann (19-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the headlining contest, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Smith’s victory over Spann at UFC Fight Night 192.

UFC Fight Night 192 results: Anthony Smith drops, submits Ryan Spann in wild main event

Anthony Smith put on another stellar performance to finish Ryan Spann in the UFC Fight Night 192 main event.

[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] put on another stellar performance to finish [autotag]Ryan Spann[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 192 main event.

Smith’s (36-16 MMA, 11-6 UFC) striking and grappling were both a level above Spann (19-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the key matchup. He rocked his opponent with the hands multiple times before locking in a rear-naked choke to force the submission at the 3:47 mark of Round 1.

The light heavyweight bout was the UFC Fight Night 192 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.

Both men came out aggressive to start the fight. Smith went to the leg kicks that were successful in his previous outing against Jimmy Crute, and Spann looked to counter with heavy blows. They got into some wild exchanges, and in the midst of the chaos Smith clipped and dropped Spann. He jumped on top and looked to finish the fight, but Spann stayed calm and avoided the follow ups. They reversed positions on the ground, and Smith searched for an armbar, but Spann spun free.

Once they got back to the feet, though, the momentum shifted back to Smith. His left hook was money over and over, and he clipped Spann multiple times and put him on wobbly legs. Spann went into survival mode as he shot for takedowns, but that allowed Smith to take his back and flatten him out on the canvas. Smith snuck the forearm under the throat and forced the tap out with a rear-naked choke.

After the submission, Smith got heated and started yelling in Spann’s face. They had to be separated as security filled the cage, but eventually cooler heads prevailed and they shook hands.

After the fight, Smith reiterated his pre-fight comments of wanting a rematch with Aleksander Rakic.

“I want Aleksander Rakic,” Smith said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “He’s just sitting around. He’s not getting the title. Either I get that fight or I’m going to skip him.”

Rakic quickly responded to the callout, and said he would be more than happy to run it back in December (via Twitter):

“Merry Christmas to me,” Smith said.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 192 results include:

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UFC Fight Night 192 results: Ion Cutelaba dominates Devin Clark to snap skid

Ion Cutelaba’s classic aggressive style was too much for Devin Clark to take in the UFC Fight Night 192 co-main event.

[autotag]Ion Cutelaba[/autotag]’s classic aggressive style was too much for [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] to take in the UFC Fight Night 192 co-main event.

Cutelaba (16-6-1 MMA, 5-5-1 UFC) used both striking and grappling to overwhelm Clark (12-6 MMA, 6-6 UFC) and get a unanimous decision by scores of 30-26, 29-26 and 29-27 in the light heavyweight contest, which took place on Saturday’s card from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Cutelaba nearly put Clark away in the first round. He landed a hard grazing shot that set up a knockdown, then spent more than two minutes trying to finish it. Referee Keith Peterson gave Clark a whole lot of leash, and the fighter moved just enough to avoid having it waved off.

Clark attempted to collect himself in the second frame, but Cutelaba still smelled blood and was throwing heat. To Clark’s credit, he tried to make some offense happen. However, the damage had already been done and when Cutelaba took him down, he moved directly into mount and chipped away with shots. Clark got back to his feet and tried to make something happen, but Cutelaba remained sharp.

Going into the third round, Clark had a teeth issue and asked his team if he should continue fighting. He ended up doing so, and he performed admirably. Cutelaba found his way into mount multiple times over the final five minutes, but couldn’t put Clark away. Clark got a big takedown late in the fight and had a nice flurry, but he was unable to do anything with it to change the trajectory of the contest, despite getting the round from two of three judges.

Check out some highlights of Cutelaba’s dominant win below (via Twitter):

After going winless in his past three octagon appearances, Cutelaba badly needed to get his hand raised against Clark. He did just that, and can now claim to be a winner for the first time since September 2019. Clark has suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.

“‘The Hulk’ is back,” Cutelaba said in his post-fight interview. “I’m staying here. I’m staying here this night. Thank you so much, Devin Clark. Good fight. I respect you. The next fight is fighting the top (of the division).”

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UFC Fight Night 192 video: Arman Tsarukyan destroys Christos Giagos in first round

The hype around Arman Tsarukyan continues to grow after a spectacular finish at UFC Fight Night 192.

The hype around [autotag]Arman Tsarukyan[/autotag] continues to grow after a spectacular finish Saturday at UFC Fight Night 192.

Tsarukyan (17-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) utterly steamrolled [autotag]Christos Giagos[/autotag] (19-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in the first round of their lightweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, landing a clean punch that led to a knockdown and ultimately a flurry that forced referee Herb Dean to step in at the 2:09 mark of Round 1.

Giagos, who came into the fight as a heavy betting underdog, fought confidently in the opening moments of the fight. Tsarukyan never looked concerned, though, and waited for his moment to land a nasty left hook that was the beginning of the end.

Check out the replay of Tsarukyan’s handiwork below (via Twitter):

Tsarukyan came into the fight critical of his body of work in the UFC so far. He’s been solid, but has earned all three of his previous victories by decision. He badly wanted a highlight for his resume, and he did just that.

“Last four fights, I have a lot of decisions,” Tsarukyan said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “Sean Shelby said, ‘You have to finish if you want to grow up.’ Now I did it, and I think I can fight top 10, top five guys. Let’s go. I am ready. I want to beat (Dan) Hooker. Let’s go. Let’s do it.”

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UFC Fight Night 192 video: Nate Maness scores incredible comeback TKO of Tony Gravely

Nate Maness pulled off the comeback of the night against Tony Gravely at UFC Fight Night 192.

[autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag] pulled off the comeback of the night against [autotag]Tony Gravely[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 192.

After nearly getting finished with a big shot and being saved by the bell at the end of the first round, Maness (14-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) gathered himself and secured a big turnaround TKO against Gravely (21-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in the second round of their bantamweight matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Maness clipped Gravely with a shot that sent him flying back into the fence and then swarmed with punches for the stoppage at the 2:10 mark of Round 2. It was clearly a good time to stop the fight, because Gravely attempted to take down referee Mark Smith after it was waved off.

Check out a replay of the come-from-behind victory below (via Twitter):

Maness recounted the rollercoaster contest post-fight, and pointed to the advice of his coaches in between rounds to allow him to get back in the fight and leave the octagon with his hand raised.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever been dropped my whole career. It was a weird experience, but not a fun one,” Maness said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I hit really hard at 135.”

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UFC Fight Night 192 video: Viral sensation Joaquin Buckley storms to TKO of Antonio Arroyo

The Joaquin Buckley highlight reel continues to grow after another big finish at UFC Fight Night 192.

The [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] highlight reel continues to grow after another big finish Saturday at UFC Fight Night 192.

After a back-and-forth middleweight fight for more than two rounds, Buckley (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) came out eager to do something big in the third round of his bout with [autotag]Antonio Arroyo[/autotag] (9-5 MMA, 0-3 UFC). He got that with a TKO at the 2:26 mark of Round 3.

Buckley stormed Arroyo with a combination and landed a right hook and short uppercut combination that floored Arroyo. He landed a few follow-up blows to force the referee to step in.

Check out the replay of Buckley’s finish (via Twitter):

After recording the 2020 “Knockout of the Year” with his viral finish of Impa Kasanganay, Buckley had some of the wind taken out of his sails with a brutal knockout loss to Alessio Di Chirico in January. He bounced back strong, though.

It was an important fight for both Buckley and Arroyo, and while Buckley admitted post-fight he would’ve likely lost a decision (one judge had Arroyo up 20-18 after two rounds, and the other two had the fight even), he took that element out of the equation by stopping the fight with strikes.

“That was a beautiful fight for me and Antonio, man,” Buckley said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I know he was fighting for his job. UFC, keep this man. Keep him.”

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UFC Fight Night 192 video: Rong Zhu becomes first fighter born in 2000s to get a UFC win

21-year-old Rong Zhu made history with his victory at UFC Fight Night 192.

[autotag]Rong Zhu[/autotag] made history Saturday at UFC Fight Night 192.

Zhu (18-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at 21, became the first fighter born in the decade of the 2000s to get his hand raised inside the octagon when he scored a third-round TKO victory over Brandon Jenkins (14-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in their catchweight bout (Zhu missed weight) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

The striking and grappling of Zhu were on point for the entirety of the contest. Jenkins took the fight on just three days’ notice as a replacement for Dakota Bush and did his best, but was unable to fend off the aggression of his opponent en route to the stoppage at the 4:35 mark of Round 3.

Check out the highlights of Zhu’s victory below (via Twitter):

China’s Zhu made his promotional debut in April with a unanimous decision loss to Rodrigo Vargas at UFC 261. He had won 10 straight fights prior to that contest, but has now rebounded with a strong introduction to the UFC win column.

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UFC Fight Night 192 video: Top prospect Erin Blanchfield batters Sarah Alpar in lopsided debut

Erin Blanchfield showed why she’s a highly touted women’s flyweight prospect with a finish in her octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 192.

There was no shortage of excitement around [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag]’s octagon debut Saturday at UFC Fight Night 192. She showed why with a dominant performance.

Blanchfield (7-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a highly touted women’s flyweight prospect, controlled and overwhelmed [autotag]Sarah Alpar[/autotag] (9-6 MMA, 0-2 UFC) in their women’s flyweight bout en route to a unanimous decision victory.

The 22-year-old nearly got a stoppage in every round in the fight – and was especially close in Round 3 – but Alpa hung tough from the opening bell to the final one. In the end, though, it was a definitive scorecard sweep of 30-25, 30-25 and 30-26.

Check out some highlights from Blanchfield’s win below (via Twitter):

Short of a finish, Blanchfield couldn’t have asked for much more in the fight. She racked up nearly 10 minutes of ground control time and landed well over 150 total strikes. She said she was satisfied, but also craved more.

“I really wanted the finish,” Blanchfield said in her post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I was pretty close a few times, but it’s my UFC debut, so at least a win is good.”

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