The UFC Hamburg main event occurred at light heavyweight, where former champion and MMA legend Mauricio Shogun Rua looked to extend his streak to four-straight, and perhaps earn himself a light heavyweight title shot. His adversary in this high stakes challenge was fearsome contender Anthony Smith, who stepped in to replace Volkan Oezdemir on short notice.

To say Anthony Smith rose to the occasion would be a mammoth understatement.

After rocking Shogun with a front-kick to the face early in the first round, Smith stormed forward with a hell-storm of punches and elbows. Within seconds, Shogun was out cold,  propped up against the cage like a mannequin in a storefront.

See it below.

WOW‼️ @lionheartsmith knocks out Shogun at #UFCHamburg! pic.twitter.com/hrsZA172vk

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) July 22, 2018

Back-to-Back former LHW champs for @LionheartSmith ..#UFCHamburg pic.twitter.com/gSyjpJ6trk

— UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2018

Just as he did when he met Rashad Evans at UFC 225, Anthony Smith has absolutely brutalized a former champion and a legend of the light heavyweight division.

And that’s not where the excitement ends for the new UFC light heavyweight contender. Post-fight, he called for the opportunity to step in against former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 227 on August 4.

"Gustafsson, I'll see you in LA!"

Who wants to see @LionheartSmith vs @AlexTheMauler at #UFC227?#UFCHamburg pic.twitter.com/EGDk6CsrdQ

— UFC (@ufc) July 22, 2018

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 7/22/2018.