UFC Fight Night 153 Results: Gustafsson vs. Smith
After a closely contested striking battle had played out over three full rounds, Anthony Smith took Alexander Gustafsson’s back in the fourth and swiftly capitalised to sink in a rear-naked choke and silence the Swedish crowd.
With Smith looking for big punches throughout the fight in comparison to Gustafsson’s elusive and rangy boxing, the two fighters rarely gave the other the opportunity to build on any success on the feet.
Early in the fourth however, Gustafsson attempted a throw to ground his opponent but saw his attempt thwarted with Smith promptly taking his back. From there, Smith pinned Gustafsson against the cage through ground and pound before sneaking in a rear-naked choke.
Meanwhile in the co-main event of UFC: Stockholm, Aleksandar Rakic continued his rise through the light heavyweight as a truly devastating head kick left Jimi Manuwa knocked out early in the first.
Main Card
Anthony Smith def. Alexander Gustafsson via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 4, 2:38)
Aleksandar Rakic def. Jimi Manuwa via KO (Round 1, 0:47)
Makwan Amirkhani def. Chris Fishgold via submission (anaconda choke) (Round 2, 4:25)
Christos Giagos def. Damir Hadzovic via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28)
Daniel Teymur def. Sung Bin Jo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Preliminary Card
Sergey Khandozhko def. Rostem Akman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Lina Lansberg def. Tonya Evinger via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
Leonardo Santos def. Stevie Ray via KO (Round 1, 2:17)
Frank Camacho def. Nick Hein via TKO (Round 2, 4:56)
Bea Malecki def. Eduarda Santana via submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 2, 1:59)
Early Preliminary Card
Devin Clark def. Darko Stosic via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Joel Alvarez def. Danilo Belluardo via TKO (Round 2, 2:22)