Outside Source
Elijah Smith impressed a lot of observers on Saturday night. | Getty/UFC
Henry Cejudo was impressed with Elijah Smith’s performance at UFC Vegas 109.
Smith faced Toshiomi Kazama in a bantamweight affair on the prelims at UFC Vegas 109 on Saturday. After multiple submission threats, Kazama caught Smith in a triangle towards the latter half of the opening stanza. However, “Swift” brutally slammed the Japanese fighter into unconsciousness to walk away with a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus. The commentary team later confirmed that Kazama did not sustain any serious injury.
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Cejudo applauded Smith’s performance, also hailing him as a “problem” in the division. “Triple C” also joked about a possible move back to flyweight to avoid facing Smith.
Cejudo Impressed with ‘One of Best Slams’ in UFC History
“That was one of the best slams in UFC history! Elijah Smith is a PROBLEM in the bantamweight division,” Cejudo wrote on X. “Considering a move back to flyweight after tonight.”
Smith earned his UFC contract with a win over Aaron Tau on Dana White’s Contender Series last year. The 22-year-old made his UFC debut this past February, beating Vince Morales by decision.
Meanwhile, Cejudo surprisingly retired as the reigning UFC bantamweight champ in 2020. The Olympic gold medallist returned after a three-year hiatus in 2023, dropping a bantamweight title shot against Aljamain Sterling. Cejudo has since suffered consecutive losses against Merab Dvalishvili and Yadong Song.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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