Anthony Smith wanted to tack on another big name to his résumé, and on Sunday and he did.
After knocking our former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans in 53 seconds last month, “Lionheart” destroyed Mauricio Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg, Germany. The Nebraskan rocked “Shogun” with a front kick to the chin and then clubbed away at his head with punches. Rua backed away, nearly fell and when Smith nailed the Brazilian legend with a right elbow to the side of his face, Rua was out.
Smith slammed a follow-up right-left hook combo to Rua’s jaw, sending him lifelessly to the canvas. The end came in just 89 seconds, allowing Smith to add another former world champion onto his ledger.
Anderson Bests Teixeira
Corey Anderson took another step up the light heavyweight ladder by dominating former world title challenger Glover Teixeira in the co-main event Sunday.
Anderson, the champion of Season 19 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” out-struck his Brazilian counterpart throughout their duel and utilized a strong ground-and-pound attack when the fight was sent to the ground. Teixeira became increasingly fatigued down the stretch and “Overtime” turned up the heat on him. All three cageside judges favored Anderson 30-27.
Azaitar Wins Octagon Debut
Middleweight Abu Azaitar used his strong muay Thai background to taste victory in his UFC debut.
The Moroccan tore into Vitor Miranda with reckless abandon early and often, slamming punches to the Brazilian’s head and body. Miranda hung tough, though, and rallied in the third with a solid ground game. Miranda was unable to secure and submissions off his back, however, allowing a gassed-out Azaitar to survive. The judges favored Azaitar with scores of 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Tybura Blankets Struve
Polish heavyweight Marcin Tybura wasn’t overly concerned with Stefan Struve’s massive height and reach advantage. Struve was passive throughout their encounter and was easily taken down by “Tybur” several times in the contest, allowing Tybura to earn a unanimous decision.
The battle was uneventful until the end, but it was Tybura’s takedowns that were the difference. Tybura win the verdict 30-27 (twice) and 29-28.
Roberts Squeaks by Zawada
In one of the best fights of the card, Danny Roberts did just enough to squeak past David Zawada over three rounds to earn a grueling split decision win.
Both men tore into each other on the feet, landing punches and elbows and gunning for the knockout. However, the most exciting action was on the ground where each man had several moments of either vicious ground-and-pound or nearly nabbing a submission. The heart of each combatant carried them through to the end, where two judges favored Roberts with scores of 30-27 and 29-28, while the third favored “Sagat” 29-28. The crowd felt that local fighter, Zawada, had been robbed.
Haqparast Dominates Diakiese
Nasrat Haqparast took a few minutes to settle in against fierce striker Marc Diakiese in the first fight of the main card on Sunday, but when he did, he never looked back.
Diakiese had success early when he kept his German counterpart at a distance, but Haqparast eventually turned up his aggression. From there, he battered the Congo native with punches from all angles. Diakiese continually tried to back away to regain that space he lost, but Haqparast was relentless. By the end of the third, Diakiese’s face was a swollen, bloody mess and all three judges heavily favored Haqparast. The official scores were 30-27 (twice) and 30-26.
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