Anthony Smith is now on the short list of contenders in the UFC light heavyweight division. And his third straight victory via finish since jumping up from middleweight also meant he’s leaving Canada with an extra $50,000.
“Lionheart” rallied for a third-round submission of Volkan Oezdemir on Saturday night in the main event of UFC Moncton, using a rear-naked choke to finish a compelling back-and-forth matchup. That was enough to net the Nebraska native a Performance of the Night award, his second straight post-fight award and the third of his UFC career.
The other Performance of the Night winner came early on in the show, when Don Madge made his UFC debut count. The lightweight from South Africa announced his presence in the UFC with a wicked head-kick knockout early in the second round of his fight against Te Edwards, so Madge too took home $50,000.
And finally, Fight of the Night came from the FS2 portion of the card, where Nasrat Haqparast and Thibault Gouti threw down for three rounds. Haqparast got the best of things in a unanimous decision, but they both took home $50,000 for their spirited effort. It was the first career UFC post-fight bonus for both competitors.
The UFC announced a crowd of 6,282 for their debut in the Canadian Maritimes province of New Brunswick, with the paid gate at Avenir Centre coming out to $528,211.03 USD.
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