Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
UFC president Dana White said he was in “no hurry” to book Michael Chandler’s octagon debut, but hinted at his first fight taking place in Abu Dhabi.
UFC president Dana White said he was in “no hurry” to book Michael Chandler’s octagon debut, but hinted at his first fight taking place in Abu Dhabi.
It really wasn’t all that long since Anthony Smith’s last win, but he admits that he forgot what it felt like during his recent rough patch.
LAS VEGAS – It was a rough run for one of the game’s good guys.
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] lost three fights out of four, got several teeth knocked out in a loss to Glover Teixeira, had to fend off an armed intruder in his family’s home, and just generally seemed to have things go wrong.
That made not just Smith’s victory over Devin Clark in the main event of UFC on ESPN 18 on Saturday, but the manner in which he did it – a textbook head-and-arm triangle in the first round – all the more satisfying.
And though it really hasn’t been all that long, Smith (34-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) had been through so much that he had to admit the he forget what it felt like to get his hand raised at the end of the night.
“You forget what it feels like to win,” Smith told MMA Junkie at the post-fight news conference. “I remember a loss from like ’06 as an amateur. But you do forget what it feels like to win. And I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t know man – it’s been a crazy goddamn year.”
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Exacerbating matters in Smith’s mind was the fact that he felt both of his two most recent losses – to Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic – were bout winnable fights that slipped away.
“It hurts even more when you’re losing to people you know you can beat,” Smith said. “Had Glover been a three-round fight, I win that fight. Had I not gotten the two leg kicks and that stuff, fairly confident I beat Rakic. Both of those guys did great jobs – they’re incredible competitors. Sometimes the shoe just drops like that. But the break-in and COVID, and getting my teeth knocked out, it’s just a mess. So it feels really good to be back where I belong.”
With his 50th career fight now under his belt, Smith can look back and see how a more focused mental approach helped him get back into the win column. For all the self-doubt that came with his rough patch, it was as simple a matter as remembering what he’s capable of doing.
“You hear the whispers: ‘Where’s his head at? Is he healthy? Is he back too soon? Does he really want this? Is he too focused on the (analyst) desk? Is he worried about his pretty teeth?’” Smith said. “I hear it all. So you don’t want to prove those people right, and that’s where the pressure comes, and then it spirals down from there, because then you’re focused on everything else. (Saturday), I was just focused on reminding myself what it felt like and just going in and doing what I know I can do. I know what I’m capable of. I just have to do it.”
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UFC president Dana White had rave reviews for Anthony Smith after a crucial career victory in the UFC on ESPN 18 headliner.
LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White had rave reviews for [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] after a crucial career victory in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 headliner.
Smith (33-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) came into his light heavyweight main event against Devin Clark (12-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) on the heels of pair of definitive losses. He needed to rebound to prove he’s still a contender, and did as much with a first-round submission win at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
White acknowledged this was a crossroads fight for “Lionheart,” and was impressed by his response.
“He looked awesome,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 18. “He came in to make a statement, and message received. He looked good.”
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It’s been a rough year for Smith both inside the octagon and out. He’s dealt with personal hardship, including a home invasion that put his family under the spotlight. His position in the 205-pound rankings was deterred, as well, but he showed reliance in beating Clark.
There was nothing smooth about the lead-up to this fight, though. After the original headliner between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis was called off on weigh-in day, Smith’s fight was promoted to the main event, and changed to five rounds from three.
Smith remained composed throughout all the changes, however, and did his work inside the cage when the time arrived. That’s what White wants to see out of his fighters, he said, and now things are looking up for Smith.
“These are the things you’ve got to do,” White said. “You’ll see in this business a lot, guys who try to hold their spots and not fight anybody. That ain’t the way to do it. What he did tonight, that’s the way you do it. Are you still that good? If you’re still that good, then you should go out and do what you did tonight to a guy like Devin Clark: (a) young, hungry stud who wants to work his way up and steal your spot. You’ve got to go out and make a statement, and he did that tonight. People respect that.”
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UFC president Dana White had rave reviews for Mike Tyson’s performance in his boxing comeback bout against Roy Jones Jr.
LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White had rave reviews for [autotag]Mike Tyson[/autotag]’s performance in his boxing comeback bout against Roy Jones Jr. on Saturday.
White, who is a personal friend of Tyson and has had him as a guest at numerous UFC events over the years, was watching Tyson’s exhibition bout with Jones Jr. from his green room at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, while UFC on ESPN 18 was going down.
At the conclusion of the event, White spoke to the media, and gave his reaction to the eight-round fight which was unofficially declared a draw by the WBC judges. Needless to say, he came away pleased.
“I didn’t want to say anything negative because I love Tyson and he’s a good friend of mine,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the UFC on ESPN 18 post-fight news conference. “I was nervous. He’s (54) years old. Time is undefeated. Time takes us all down and one of the things I was worried for Mike is that he has this incredible aura still, and (54) years old – fighting is young man’s game. All that being said, he looked (expletive) awesome tonight.
“I was blown away by how good he looked. One of the things I was worried about with Roy – Roy’s 51 years old, but Roy’s been way more active than Tyson has been. But Roy actually got way more tired tonight than Mike, which was shocking. I’m happy for him. I hope they both made a (expletive) zillion dollars, and it exceeded my expectations.”
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Although the special judges did not decide a winner, White said “Tyson won the fight.” After he competed, Tyson said he would be interested in getting back in the ring for more action in the future.
As someone who had reservations about Tyson fighting at this stage of his life, White indicated he’s been convinced otherwise, and object to seeing his friend do it again.
“He looked good,” White said. “He’s a grown ass man and he’s going to do what he wants anyway, but good for him. It was actually a good fight. It was an entertaining fight to watch and I thought he looked really good. I’m happy for him.”
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Anthony Smith spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
Anthony Smith spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
A night of fantastic finishes led to four “Performance of the Night” bonuses, capped off with Anthony Smith’s main event submission.
Another Saturday, another UFC event, another $200,000 in post-fight bonuses.
UFC on ESPN 18 went down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, a night in which the solid action inside the octagon made up for the lack of top-to-bottom star power going on.
This was one of those nights with more noteworthy individual performances than barnburner bouts. So the UFC awarded four, $50,000 “Performance of the Night” awards: [autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag], [autotag]Miguel Baeza[/autotag], [autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag], and [autotag]Nate Maness[/autotag].
Without further ado, then, a look at UFC on ESPN 18’s bonus winners:
Miguel Baeza spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
Miguel Baeza spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
See the top Twitter reactions to Anthony Smith’s victory over Devin Clark at UFC on ESPN 18.
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] got a much-needed victory for his career on Saturday when he beat [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] in the UFC on ESPN 18 headliner.
After a two-fight skid, former light heavyweight title challenger Smith (33-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) got back in the win column with a first-round submission victory over Clark (12-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) in the main event matchup, which took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Smith’s victory over Clark at UFC on ESPN 18.
Anthony Smith got back on track with a definitive performance against Devin Clark in the UFC on ESPN 18 main event.
[autotag]Anthony Smith[/autotag] got back on track with a definitive performance Saturday and a finish of [autotag]Devin Clark[/autotag] in the first round of the UFC on ESPN 18 main event.
Smith (34-16 MMA, 9-6 UFC) used his grappling advantage to his favor and locked in a triangle choke that forced Clark (12-5 MMA, 6-5 UFC) to give in at the 2:34 mark of Round 1.
The light heavyweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 18 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN2/ESPN+.
Smith surprised Clark out of the cage by securing a takedown within the first 15 seconds of the bout. They battled for position on the mat, and the result was Clark securing top control. Smith quickly advanced into a triangle choke, though, and forced Clark to tap out.
With the win, Smith snapped a two-fight losing skid. He admitted afterward how important it was for his career.
“It’s been a long road,” Smith said in his post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “You think you make it to the title shot and things go well and things are supposed to go super good, but that’s life. I’m not going anywhere. Don’t sleep on me.”
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 18 results include:
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Parker Porter spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
Parker Porter spoke to the media following Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 18 in Las Vegas.
