Smith beat Gustafsson. (Photo: Reproduction/FacebookUFC)
Swedish fans filled the Ericsson Globe Arena to support Alexander Gustafson, in the main fight of UFC Stockholm, this Saturday afternoon (01). But Anthony Smith undeniably frustrated the public in the Nordic country. The American secured a rear naked choke in the fourth round and made 'The Mauler' give up the fight. The setback made Gustafsson, in tears, leave his gloves in the octagon and announce his retirement.
“I'm disappointed, because the fight was here at my house... It's really cool to compete in the UFC, but unfortunately the show is over,” said Gustafsson, with tears in his eyes.
See too
The setback to Anthony Smith was the second of Alexander Gustafson in Sweden. In January 2015, in the duel that would have been worth the chance to fight for the belt, he was knocked out by another Anthony, Johnson, and also left the fighting area crying.
On the other hand, Smith establishes himself as one of the best light heavyweights in the world. After moving up from the middleweight division (up to 84 kg.) to the top category, he achieved his fourth victory in five fights, being defeated only by the champion Jon Jones. The American now has a record of 32 wins and 14 losses.
The fight
The hot weather started as soon as the fighters entered. As soon as he stepped into the Octagon, Smith was heavily booed, while Gustafsson was loudly applauded by the crowd. But as soon as the duel started, the North American changed the expected story of the duel.
Considered an underdog, Smith walked forward throwing punches. Gustafsson dodged attacks well and tried to respond with kicks. However, in one of these blows, he suffered a deep cut on his shin that visibly bothered the Swede. Anthony took advantage and continued walking forward and adding points.
In the second round, Smith continued to walk forward and attack with combinations of punches. In turn, Gustafsson showed good evasion and most of the blows were not connected. On the other hand, the Swede did not respond to the attacks. Furthermore, still bothered by the bleeding on his shin, Alexander had another cut on his left ear.
Gustafsson came back willing to change the story of the fight in the third round. Smith's volume dropped and the Swede took the initiative. He shook the North American on two occasions: with a combination of jabs and with a kick to the waistline. Afterwards, Gustafsson still took Smith to the ground and finished the partial on top.
In the fourth round, with the crowd excited and waiting for a comeback, Gustafsson tried to follow the same path as in the previous round. He opened the game and tried the takedown. However, he fell underneath and Smith quickly took his back. The North American had the patience to lock in the rear naked choke and force the Swede to give up.
UFC Stockholm results
MAIN CARD
Light Heavyweight: Anthony Smith finished Alexander Gustafson with a rear naked choke at 2m38s of R4
Light Heavyweight: Aleksandar rakic defeated Jimi Manuwa by knockout 42s into R1
Feather weight: mawan amirkhani finished Chris Fishgold with a clock 4m25s from R2
Lightweight: Christos Giagos derrotou Damir Hadzović in the unanimous decision of the judges (29-27, 29-27 and 29-28)
Featherweight: Daniel Teymur defeated Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27 29-28 30-27)
PRELIMINARY CARD
Welterweight: Sergey Khandozhko defeated Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28)
Bantamweight: Lina Lansberg defeated Tonya Evinger via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
Lightweight: Leo Santos defeated Stevie Ray by knockout at 2m17s of R1
Lightweight: Frank Camacho defeated Nick Hein via TKO at 4:55 of R2
Bantamweight: Bea Malecki finished Duda Cowboyzinha with a rear naked choke at 1m59s of R2
Light Heavyweight: Devin Clark defeated Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Joel alvarez beat Danilo Belluardo by technical knockout at 2m22s of R2
Comments