Smith chokes Clark at UFC Fight Night

FILE – Anthony Smith of the United States looks on against Glover Teixeira of Brazil in their Light Heavyweight bout during UFC Fight Night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on May 13, 2020 in Jacksonville, Florida. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images/AFP

Anthony Smith got Devin Clark to submit under a triangle choke at 2:34 of the first round to win the main event at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.

The light-heavyweight battle topped the bill after a scheduled heavyweight bout between Curtis Blaydes and Derrick Lewis was canceled Friday. Blaydes reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.

Smith, a 32-year-old Texas native, improved to 34-16 by earning his first win in three fights this year. He lost to Glover Teixeira in May and Aleksandar Rakic in August.

Clark, a 30-year-old South Dakota native, fell to 2-1 on the year after victories over Dequan Townsend in February and Alonzo Menifield in June. He is 12-5-0 overall.

On the undercard, 28-year-old Floridian Miguel Baeza won by submission over Japan’s Takashi Sato on an arm triangle at 4:28 of the second round of a welterweight match. Baeza improved to 10-0 with his second win of 2020, while Sato (16-4) slipped to 1-1 this year.

In a battle of U.S. heavyweights, Josh Parisian (13-4) won a unanimous decision over Parker Porter (11-6).