Check out which fighters won performance bonuses from UFC Fight Night: Gistafsson vs. Smith.
The Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden was home to a entertaining night of fights, loaded with great fights for avid fans. The card saw four (T)KOs, three submissions, and five unanimous decisions.
Performances of the Night: Leonardo Santos, Makwan Amirkhani, Aleksander Rakic, Anthony Smith
It took less than two-and-a-half minutes for Leonardo Santos to send Stevie Ray back to the Loser’s Lounge after the Scotsman broke a two-fight losing skid last October. Santos tenderized Ray’s midsection with a series of supercharged kicks. Ray managed to fire of one straight left but was countered by a straight right that cleaned his clock. Leonardo Santos gets the win and a $50,000 bonus.
Makwan Amirkhani boasted new and improved striking, but it was his submission savvy that put a rough end to Chris Fishgold’s night. There was a pair of accidental fouls—eye poke and low blow—by Makwan, but it was the low blow that seemed to be the most bothersome, even though it seemed Chris was fully recovered after a brief timeout. The contest saw great grappling from both men, but despite Fishgold’s best attempts at a reverse triangle and guillotine, Amirkhani was just better. As a matter of fact, it was a failed guillotine attempt that led to Amirkhani gaining side control, then transitioning to half guard where he locked in a gnarly anaconda choke to force the tap. Makwan Amirkhani gets the win and a $50,000 bonus.
Aleksander Rakic wasted no time dispatching Jimi Manuwa to Dreamland in front of thousands of Stockholm fight fans. Manuwa winged a huge left hook, missed, and left room for Rakic to land a right uppercut followed by a left high kick that planted the Brit. Manuwa was out cold. Aleksander Rakic gets the win and a $50,000 bonus.
Anthony Smith beat the odds again when he took out Alexander Gustafsson in front of a hometown crowd in Sweden. The fight was a back-and-forth affair with both men landing hard blows, but Smith was clearly the aggressor for most of the contest and took two of the first three rounds by my scoring. The fourth round saw Gus jabbing and low-kicking effectively, but once they clinched up, Smith took advantage of the close quarters opportunity to drag The Mauler down where he took his back. From there, he softened the Swede up with vicious elbows (a couple that looked like they may have unintentionally landed on the back of the head). Smith patiently began working a rear-naked-choke and finally got it in there tight enough to get the finish. Gustafsson left his gloves in the octagon afterward, retiring after a 12-year fight career. Anthony Smith gets the win and a $50,000 bonus.
Fight of the Night: None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Attendance: 14,319 (SOLD OUT)
Gate: $2,000,000