On Sunday afternoon, in the main event of UFC Hamburg, former middleweight contender Anthony Smith took his second fight in the UFC light heavyweight division. This fight, which followed a first-round slaughter of former champ Rashad Evans in June, saw him step in to replace Volkan Oezdemir against another former champ in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
For fans of the legendary Shogun, this one was not pretty. For fans of the surging Anthony Smith, it couldn’t have been more beautiful.
After rocking Shogun with a front kick in the first round, Smith cranked up the offense. Moments later, he was walking his legendary foe down, shelling him with a hellacious series of punches and elbows. Suddenly, Shogun was out light a light — propped up against the cage, in the standing position, like a mannequin in a shop window.
Smith then generated even more buzz for himself by calling for a UFC 227 fight with Alexander Gustafsson.
Unsurprisingly, this massive knockout win and the Gustafsson callout that followed it generated some interesting reactions from the MMA community. Without further ado, here are some of the best reactions to Anthony Smith’s epic UFC Hamburg drubbing of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
@lionheartsmith Impressive!!!
— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) July 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/LynchOnSports/status/1021142854788268032
Now That’s a callout!!! I like this guy #UFChamburg
— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) July 22, 2018
Out cold on his feet!! #ufchamburg
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) July 22, 2018
Dammit! Nothing against Anthony Smith, I’ve just always rooted for the OG Shogun.
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) July 22, 2018
That was phenomenal. Give that man the Gus fight right now. Did just what he said he would. Incredible. #UFCHamburg. #UFC227
— Drake Riggs (@DrakeRiggs_) July 22, 2018
This Smith fella is something else. #UFCHamburg
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) July 22, 2018
Anthony ‘Lionheart’ Smith! Had to eat one there to get it done but it ends up a brutal, first-round KO of Shogun Rua to announce himself as light heavyweight contender. If you know the man, the backstory + the fighter, = easy to be happy for @lionheartsmith.
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) July 22, 2018
@lionheartsmith making statements in the LHW division #UFCHamburg
— Julian marquez (@JMarquezMMA) July 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/MeganA_mma/status/1021140990453854208
LIONHEART!!! hell ya boy nice w @lionheartsmith @FactoryXMTMMA @LandowPerform @ufc #UFCHamburg
— Steven Siler (@Stevesiler) July 22, 2018
https://twitter.com/NeilSeeryMMA/status/1021139680690155520
Damn that was quick! #UFCHamburg
— Frankie Saenz (@FrankieSaenz) July 22, 2018
Fuck yeah @lionheartsmith !!!!! Beautiful and dominating fight!!!
— Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) July 22, 2018
What was your reaction to Anthony Smith’s destruction of Shogun in the UFC Hamburg main event?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/22/2018.