UFC Fight Night 138 Results: The Real Winners and Losers
The UFC light heavyweight division has been a punchline for quite a while. Not even Dane Cook can find a way to reconstitute the same old tepid jokes about how shallow and bland the one-time glamor class has become.
But the cavalry is finally on the way. As most fans know, light heavyweight comprises one half of Daniel Cormier's double-division reign. He defends his heavyweight strap against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 on Saturday, so his status with either division is in flux. But as one of the company's top stars, his mere presence as the top light heavyweight brings some needed juice to the proceedings.
Exiled 205-pound king Jon Jones is returning to action, set to rematch the opponent who probably gave him his stiffest test to date, Alexander Gustafsson. Young talent like Dominick Reyes and Nikita Krylov are adding depth and excitement to the rank and file.
The main event of UFC Fight Night 138, which went down Saturday from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, was another strong case in point. Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith, respectively ranked second and 10th in the UFC's official division rankings, would very much enter the title mix with a win.
The 29-year-old Oezdemir (15-2) is coming off a loss to Cormier, but his previous two wins were knockouts that lasted a total, not an average, of one minute and 10 seconds.
Already a grizzled veteran at age 30, Smith (30-13) has turned heads by winning five of his past six bouts, with all five wins by knockout. He's a crisp 2-0 since moving up to 205 pounds, although opponents Rashad Evans and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua were both well beyond their prime.
In short, both men had all the tools and all the motivation they needed to make a statement Saturday night. And that was only one of the evening's 13 scheduled bouts. As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from Moncton.
For the literal-minded among us, full results appear at the end.
Winner: Anthony Smith
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We have a new contender in the UFC light heavyweight division, and his name is Anthony Smith.
Knockouts were the presumed weapons of the day, but Smith played a longer game Saturday, bloodying and then submitting Volkan Oezdemir with a gritty rear-naked choke in the closing minute of the third round.
The first round likely went to Oezdemir, as they waged a back-and-forth standup battle that saw the Swiss fighter score with low kicks and a thudding jab, but both men seemed to prefer to pot-shot from farther out. Smith went for takedowns but was unable to land them.
In the second, a Smith charge bloodied Oezdemir, who used a trip to get the action to the ground, where he maintained extended control. Smith remained composed, seeming to prefer to wait for another opportune moment.
With both men gassing badly in the third, Smith finally got the big takedown he had sought. He wrapped up a body triangle and went fishing for the rear-naked choke. Oezdemir was game until the moment a tap was his only remaining option. After it came, Smith sank back on to the canvas, exhausted.
After the fight, Smith didn't waste his time on the mic.
"I've been fighting since I was 17 years old," he told broadcaster Dan Hardy. "I've been chasing this dream. My career's been up and down. ... And all I've ever wanted was to stand in here after a win and feel confident enough to say, 'my name is Anthony Smith, and I want a title shot.'"
It's hard to think of anyone outside of the Cormier-Jones-Gustafsson triad who has a better claim than Smith, especially after this gutty win over a great competitor in Oezdemir.
Loser: Artem Lobov
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Artem Lobov has been on the wrong end of many an MMA storyline.
Before his co-main event featherweight bout with Michael Johnson, Lobov took in a rare round of applause when he offered to return the portion of Johnson's purse that he forfeited after missing weight by two pounds. Johnson, as fans know, took the bout on two weeks' notice after Lobov's intense rival, Zubaira Tukhugov, was scratched from the card.
During the fight, Conor McGregor's training partner reminded viewers why he's exciting but not particularly inspiring. He threw hands often but wasn't particularly accurate or disciplined. Lobov pushed forward, but Johnson consistently circled out and piled up damage behind a steady jab.
Johnson cruised to a comfortable unanimous-decision win, with Lobov's admirable chin the only thing that staved off a finish as Johnson landed almost at will down the stretch.
Lobov is now 13-15-1 (1) as a pro. He has dropped three straight and is 2-5 in the UFC.
The loss to Johnson was a reminder of what Lobov is and is not. He is McGregor's training partner and an action-oriented competitor; he's not UFC co-main event material.
Winner: Misha Cirkunov
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I'm one of those old-school types who believes you label things based on what they are, not what you might want or hope or need them to be. Using that criteria, this card was "not good." Not a lot of highlights for the proverbial reel.
Sure, there were fun outcomes here and there. There always are. But those three big letters don't necessarily translate to unbridled MMA greatness, and UFC Moncton's slog of unmemorable bouts just reinforced that.
One of the true bright spots Saturday was light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov.
One of a precious few Canadian fighters on the card, Cirkunov looked headed for a round-one stalemate along the fence with grinder Patrick Cummins.
That is until he surprised Cummins with a judo trip, landed in mount, latched on an arm-triangle choke and rotated it around for the tap. It was Cummins' first submission loss as a pro.
The 31-year-old Cirkunov stopped a two-fight skid and has probably his highest-profile belt notch to date.
Loser: Te Edwards
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According to betting site OddsShark, Te Edwards was a big 2-10 favorite to dispatch Don Madge on the deep undercard. Fresh off a contract-winning tear through Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, the 28-year-old was the biggest point of interest on the seven-fight undercard.
The whole thing took on a feel of a coronation, with Edwards even confessing before the fight that he refrained from trash talk so as not to scare Madge away from the cage.
Things didn't go his way. He was outgrappled for much of the first, gutting through and then narrowly escaping a serious armbar bid to keep his UFC debut alive. His opponent had big dreams for his own debut and made them come true 14 seconds into the second round.
Maybe that trash talk would have been helpful after all.
UFC Fight Night 138 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Anthony Smith def. Volkan Oezdemir by submission (rear-naked choke), 4:25, Rd. 3.
Michael Johnson def. Artem Lobov by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Misha Cirkunov def. Patrick Cummins by submission (arm-triangle choke), 2:40, Rd. 1.
Andre Soukhamthath def. Jonathan Martinez by unanimous decision (30-26, 29-28, 29-28).
Gian Villante def. Ed Herman by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Court McGee def. Alex Garcia by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-28).
Preliminary Card
Sean Strickland def. Nordine Taleb by TKO, 3:10, Rd. 2.
Nasrat Haqparast def. Thibault Gouti by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-26).
Calvin Kattar def. Chris Fishgold by TKO, 4:11, Rd. 1.
Talita Bernardo def. Sarah Moras by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Don Madge def. Te Edwards by KO, 0:14, Rd. 2.
Arjan Bhullar def. Marcelo Golm by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27).
Stevie Ray def. Jessin Ayari by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
Scott Harris covers MMA for Bleacher Report.
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