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Anthony Smith defeated Ryan Spann by submission in the first round of their light heavyweight main event bout Saturday night at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.
Smith used a rear-naked choke to end the fight at 3:47. It was Smith’s fifth first-round finish since 2018, according to ESPN.
Smith now turns his attention to Aleksandar Rakic, who defeated Smith by unanimous decision in August 2020.
“He’s just sitting around,” Smith said. “He’s not next in line for the title. Either I want that fight or I skip it.”
“I'm figuring this fighting thing out, and it feels really good.”
After submitting Ryan Spann in the first round, @LionheartASmith feels like he's coming into the best form of his career and believes he's close to challenging for the title again.
More #UFCVegas37 Results ⬇️:
— UFC News (@UFCNews) September 19, 2021
Smith improves to 36-16 while Spann falls to 19-7.
Earlier, Ion Cutelaba defeated Devin Clark by unanimous decision in their light heavyweight fight. Cutelaba took the cards 30-26, 29-26, 29-27. Cutelaba finished with nearly nine minutes in control.
Other winners include Ariane Lipski, Arman Tsarukyan, Nate Maness and Joaquin Buckley.