5 most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann

#2. Anthony Smith chokes his respect out of Ryan Spann in the main event

Anthony Smith demanded respect before his fight with Ryan Spann - and almost certainly earned it

Coming into last night’s UFC Fight Night, Anthony Smith reportedly felt disrespected by everyone from the UFC. He was determined to beat some respect out of Spann, and he did just that.

It didn’t come without a fight, though. ‘Superman’ clearly came out to take the fight to Smith and swung for the fences early on. However, it looked like Smith was the more powerful striker. On more than one occasion, he had Spann badly hurt with his strikes.

The end came when Spann’s legs were simply too rubbery to hold him up after he’d taken numerous big punches from Smith. When ‘Superman’ stumbled to the ground, Smith wasted no time.

He quickly took the back of Spann, slapped on a tight rear-naked choke and submitted him seconds later. The end of the fight almost triggered another brawl. Smith still seemed fired up and continued to rant at the beaten Spann.

Whether Smith’s post-fight anger was justified is a fair question to ask. However, this was a brilliant and explosive showing from him and marks his third first-round finish in a row. It’s time for the UFC to move him back up the ladder again.

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#1. Arman Tsarukyan shows the entire UFC why he’s so feared – in just two minutes

Arman Tsarukyan wasted no time in finishing Christos Giagos last night

There’s been a lot of hype around Arman Tsarukyan for a while now. It largely dates back to his back-and-forth UFC debut fight against Islam Makhachev.

Tsarukyan had won three straight fights since then. However, because they’d largely been grappling-based decision wins, the Russian had become someone largely avoided by opponents.

That might change after last night. Tsarukyan picked up his first UFC finish in truly explosive style. He stopped Christos Giagos with strikes in just two minutes.

A big left hand landed on Giagos, who suffered a delayed reaction before collapsing to the ground. From there, Tsarukyan pounced and punished him with a series of heavy follow-up strikes that finished ‘The Spartan’ off in brutal fashion.

The win should put much more hype around Tsarukyan than he had coming into this card. It should also put him in line for a much bigger fight next time out. Given the nature of the finish, it stands as the most explosive moment from this UFC Fight Night.