The UFC saw four first-round finishes in the span of five fights Saturday, but one of them stood out in a big way.
At UFC on ESPN 72 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Elijah Smith was dealing with pesky arm and leg submission attempts from Toshiomi Kazama in the first round of their fight on the prelims. Then he turned the tables – possibly in an all-time way.
Historically, when fighters try to slam their way out of chokes or other submission holds, they tend to wind up making their dilemma even more perilous. So Smith (9-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) might have been taking a chance when he elevated Kazama (11-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) to set up for a slam.
But the force of Smith’s slam, which included pressure from his hand on Kazama’s face on the way down, put the Japanese fighter out cold – and motionless on the canvas for a few minutes. There was genuine concern for the fighter given how his head and neck hit the canvas, and he was transported to a trauma center for evaluation – and an eventual all-clear, fortunately – after the loss.
Check out Smith’s bonus-winning finish above, plus the other stoppages from UFC on ESPN 72.
UFC on ESPN 72 finishes
- Anthony Hernandez def. Roman Dolidze via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 2:45
- Christian Leroy Duncan def. Eryk Anders via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:53
- Elijah Smith def. Toshiomi Kazama via knockout (slam) – Round 1, 4:10
- Joselyne Edwards def. Priscila Cachoeira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:24
- Uros Medic def. Gilbert Urbina via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:03
