By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Anthony Smith ended his UFC slump after a convincing submission victory against the emerging Devin “Brown Bear” Clark who is coming off a two-fight winning streak.
Smith, who is usually a striker, surprised Clark’s corner after mixing up his approach as soon as the match started.
Clark was able to respond with his steady stand-up game and connected with Smith several times. Later on, Smith changed the complexion of the fight after managing to tag Clark to the ground.
A possible twister finish was available to Smith but Clark was able to escape the unfavorable situation.
Smith sneaked through and decided to execute a risky and quick triangle choke which Clark did not anticipate, leading him to tap in the last minutes of the first round.
“I’m not going anywhere, don’t sleep on me. I think I owe it to myself and to the fans. I owe it to Dana White and the UFC because I had a couple of bad performances and it’s not my style, I don’t have boring fights,” Smith said.
The win ended Smith’s back-to-back losses and improved his win-loss record to 34-16 while Clark’s loss dealt him to 12-5.
