Dominick Reyes picked up his second stoppage of the year by stopping an emotional Anthony Smith at UFC 310.
The light heavyweight contest served as the featured prelim of the event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Reyes (14-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) capped off a fantastic performance with a TKO stoppage at 4:46 of Round 2.
Emotions were on full display for Smith (38-21 MMA, 13-11 UFC) moments before the fight began. As Reyes walked out, Smith shed tears while waiting inside the cage, due to thoughts of the death of his close friend and coach Scott Morton.
Smith worked through the moment, and the fight began. Reyes and Smith traded solid punches and worked through clinch positions in an active opening start. After an accidental eye poke to Reyes, the fight resumed with Reyes building momentum.
Hard punches connected for Reyes, appearing to stun Smith at one moment. Smith answered with a few strikes, but then, he just dropped his hands and let Reyes score a series of flush punches down the middle.
Smith started Round 2 with forward pressure, looking for a single leg takedown. He got stuck in the position, and ate a series of hard short punches while still holding onto Reyes’ leg. Eventually, Smith dropped to the canvas and Reyes poured on the strikes from the top.
Reyes continued to unload punches on a turtled Smith as referee Marc Goddard warned Smith to move. More strikes connected with no improvement from Smith, and Goddard decided to call the fight.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR DOMINICK REYES #UFC310 | LIVE NOW | ESPN+ PPV https://t.co/XX1YuUOYuv pic.twitter.com/pNPlgYZD53
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2024
While Reyes celebrated, Smith began to remove his gloves.
Smith was given a chance to speak on the microphone, where he said he was unsure how many times he could compete without his coach by his side. “Lionheart” admitted he was unable to control his emotions when he made the walk, and it carried over into the fight.
Smith didn’t commit to retirement, but said it would “probably” be his last fight.
Anthony Smith was emotional after his loss to Dominick Reyes at #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MTGjl3so2Y
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 8, 2024
Up-to-the-minute UFC 310 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
