Former UFC title challenger Anthony Smith isn’t ready to let the division pass him by just yet.
Smith scored an impressive first round finish over Ryan Spann Saturday night in the main event of UFC Fight Night. The event aired live on ESPN+ from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After dominating the opening minutes, Smith finished off the fight with a rear-naked choke.
In the co-main event, Ion Cutelaba bested Devin Clark via decision.
Ariane Lipski, Armany Tsarukyan, Nate Maness and Joaquin Buckely were all winners on the main card.
Buckley started a run of finishes, knocking out Antonio Arroyo in the third round. Their middleweight bout opened the main card.
Maness followed by stopping Tony Gravely in the second and Tsarukyan finished Christos Giagos in the first.
The prelims featured victories by Tafon Nchukwi, Raquel Pennington, Zhu Rong, Montel Jackson, Erin Blanchfield, Carlston Harris and Hannah Goldy. Gustavo Lopez and Heili Alateng fought to a draw.
Pennington kept her place in the women’s bantamweight division by turning back the challenge of Pannie Kianzad and sweeping the scorecards.
Rong and Harris each earned third round TKO wins, while Goldy won via submission.
UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann Results
Anthony Smith def. Ryan Spann via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:47 of Round 1
Ion Cutelaba def. Devin Clark via unanimous decision
Ariane Lipski def. Mandy Bohm via unanimous decision
Arman Tsarukyan def. Christos Giagos via TKO (strikes) at 2:09 of Round 1
Nate Maness def. Tony Gravely via TKO (strikes) at 2:10 of Round 2
Joaquin Buckley def. Antonio Arroyo via KO (strike) at 2:26 of Round 3
Tafon Nchukwi def. Mike Rodriguez via unanimous decision
Raquel Pennington def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision
Zhu Rong def. Brandon Jenkins via TKO (strikes) at 4:35 of Round 3
Montel Jackson def. JP Buys via unanimous decision
Erin Blanchfield def. Sarah Alpar via unanimous decision
Carlston Harris def. Impa Kasanganay via TKO (strikes) at 2:38 of Round 1
Gustavo Lopez vs. Heili Alateng declared a draw
Hannah Goldy def. Emily Whitmire via submission (armbar) at 4:17 of Round 1