Anthony Smith decided to change things up a little bit — including his widely loved walkout song — and it paid off.
Needing to get back in the win column after suffering back-to-back losses, Smith put away Devin Clark in the main event of Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 15 event with a triangle choke submission at the 2:34 mark of the opening round.
Check out the finish
🦁❤️ @LionheartASmith is BACK! #UFCVegas15 on ESPN and E+ pic.twitter.com/ehmdv3T0UR
— UFC (@ufc) November 29, 2020
The light heavyweight matchup became the main event on a little over a day’s notice after a positive COVID-19 test removed Curtis Blaydes from his heavyweight matchup with Derrick Lewis.
Clark began things very aggressive, going high with a kick followed by a hard right hand. Smith was able to get underhooks and land an easy takedown. “Lionheart” tried to take his opponent’s back and worked for a twister, but Clark was able to reverse position and end up on top.
Smith threw up a triangle and locked it in while Clark had a shoulder in to try and alleviate the pressure. In the end, it wasn’t successful.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Smith said after the win. “Don’t sleep on me.”
The former title challenger gets back in the win column after losses to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic, while Clark wasn’t able to gain further momentum following consecutive wins over Dequan Townsend and Alonzo Menifield.
