History was made on the UFC 317 undercard.
This year’s International Fight Week goes down tonight from Las Vegas, Nevada, with two titles on the line. In the main event, the undefeated Ilia Topuria goes for a second title at lightweight against former champ Charles Oliveira.
The co-headliner features a flyweight title fight between champion Alexandre Pantoja and Kai Kara-France.
The featured UFC Fight Pass prelim of the night featured the biggest betting favorite in UFC history.
Jacobe Smith avoids biggest upset of all time with win over Niko Price
It’s not every day you see a -2500 favorite in action.
UFC veteran Niko Price stood a sizable underdog against Jacobe Smith, an undefeated finisher who had won his UFC debut by KO earlier this year.
Smith got off to a great start against Price by landing an early takedown and establishing his dominance on the ground.
Smith drew first blood in the opening round and nearly finished Price with his strikes.
Price survived to see round 2, but the fan-favorite wouldn’t stay in the fight much longer as Smith continued to swarm him on the ground.
In a scramble, Smith grabbed a hold of Price’s back and tapped him out with a textbook rear-naked choke. UFC commentator Daniel Cormier called the submission ‘beautiful’ on the broadcast.
Niko Price could be headed for UFC release
UFC 317 was Price’s 19th walk to the Octagon and potentially his last.
Smith handed Price back-to-back defeats, with Price losing to Themba Gorimbo last October.
The 35-year-old Price is 2-6 (1 NC) in his last nine fights and has fought the likes of former champion Robbie Lawler, Vicente Luque and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Despite being one of the most exciting fighters in the welterweight division, with four performance bonuses to his name, it is uncertain if the UFC keeps Price around after a tough stint.