°µÍø½ûÇø

The oddsmakers had it right. Savoie, while game, absorbed a beating.

The Contender Series, held at the UFC’s Apex production facility, offers fighters a chance to impress UFC president Dana White — and possibly earn a UFC deal.

Savoie (10-2-1) came into the bout unbeaten in his last three outings (2-0-1) in Fight League Atlantic where he was the promotion's inaugural welterweight champion.

A GoFundMe page was set up in advance of Tuesday's bout to help get his support team to Las Vegas.

Smith, who has been campaigning of late in the Fury Fighting Championship, is a former two-time national junior college wrestling champion at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College. He then transferred to Oklahoma State where he earned All-American honours in 2018.

Smith (9-0-0) used his wrestling skills to dump Savoie within the first 30 seconds. The Canadian fought his way up to the fence but was taken down again.

Savoie, who was cut on the back of his head, could not deal with Smith's grappling and spent most of the round trying to fend off the American. An elbow from above resulted in another Savoie cut and the under-pressure Canadian was warned to defend himself by Smith.

Smith held a 45-4 edge in strikes in the round, according to the UFC.

Smith caught Savoie's leg during a kick and took him down again early in the second round. Smith warned Savoie again — "You've got to move" — as the Canadian took damage on the ground.

Smith connected with heavy strikes from above, with Smith stepping in at two minutes 55 seconds of the second round to end the punishment.

Savoie was six when he started in taekwondo, switched to MMA at age 15 and was 22 when he made his pro MMA debut in 2015. He won his first eight fights before being submitted by American Bassil (The Habibi) Hafez in November 2020 in Cage Fury Fighting Championships action.

The Contender Series has not been kind to Canadians recently.

Brazilian Nicolle Caliari submitted flyweight Corinne Laframboise for a first-round win last month after fellow Canadian Shannon (MMA Barbie) Clark was knocked out in vicious fashion by Venezuelan flyweight Yuneisy Duben, an 8-1 underdog.

Canadians who previously earned UFC contracts via the Contender Series include Chad Anheliger, Jasmine Jasudavicius, Mike Malott, Yohan Lainesse and TJ Laramie.

Others to have moved on via the feeder series include Serhiy Sidey, who moved to Canada from Ukraine when he was six and now calls Burlington, Ont., home, and Brazilian-born Caio Machado, who now fights out of Vancouver.

This report by °µÍø½ûÇø was first published Oct. 1, 2024.