UFC Fight Night 138: Anthony Smith survives early onslaught to submit Volkan Oezdemir

A few months ago, Anthony Smith moved up a division. And now, he’s certain to be moving up the rankings.

Smith finished his third consecutive bout at light heavyweight, surviving an early onslaught from Volkan Oezdemir to pull out a submission victory with a rear naked choke at 4:26 of the third round in UFC Fight Night 138 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

The win, which followed knockout victories over former champions Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, should vault Smith toward the top of the light heavyweight rankings. He was 10th going into the fight and upset the No. 2 Oezdemir, who was fighting for the first time since being stopped by champion Daniel Cormier in a title fight at UFC 220 in January.

Smith lay on the mat for an extended period after forcing the tap, having spent himself in pursuit of the victory. He knew Oezdemir is one of the hardest punchers in the sport, but was surprised by his kicks. He was helped to his locker room with his arms draped over the shoulders of his coaches.

“I wasn’t expecting to eat that many leg kicks,” Smith said. “Man, that dude kicks hard. My leg’s pretty messed up now.”

He survived an early Oezdemir onslaught, which he knew would be coming. Oezdemir fights as if he’s got an early dinner appointment and roared out after Smith.

Smith shot for a takedown early, but spent much of the first round fending off Oezdemir’s power shots. He figured his best chance to win would be to extend the fight.

“The first couple of rounds, I have to be honest with you, he’s so strong, so explosive and just so damn good, I knew I had to be a nuisance for him, just wear him out, lay on him, get him tired,” Smith said. “I felt I’d take over in the later rounds.”

The tide started to change in the second, as Smith was landing shots of his own, and it moved in his direction in the third. He was catching Oezdemir with right hands, but shot for a takedown to set up the finishing sequence.

He quickly got Oezdemir’s back and maneuvered for the choke. Oezdemir fought it for a while, but eventually succumbed.

Now, Smith has to sit and wait to see what happens with the rankings and if the UFC will give him the winner of the title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson, which will be on Dec. 29 at UFC 232 in Las Vegas. Cormier will be stripped of the light heavyweight belt when that fight happens.

“I’ve been fighting since I was 17 years old, chasing this dream, and my career has been up and down,” Smith said. “I’ve suffered through so much adversity.”

He’s got a lot of fighters between himself and Oezdemir, but few are as hot as he is at this point.

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