Cameron Smotherman gave a very good account of himself in his short-notice UFC debut tonight at UFC Fight Night 245 as he emerged with a unanimous decision victory against Jake Hadley.
Round One:
Leg kick for Hadley is greeted by a punch from Smotherman. Inside calf kick for Hadley. Punch punch from Smotherman.
Another inside leg kick for Hadley. Body punch for Smotherman. He goes there again. They both throw a punch simultaneously. More inside calf kick work from Hadley. Step-in punch from Hadley. Now a jab from him. Both throws hooks and Smotherman’s lands.
Hadley sticking to the kicks, going for a low kick and then works one up to the body. Body punch for Smotherman. Missed hooks from Smotherman. Hadley just misses on a big hook of his own.
Smotherman still going to the body with punches. Hook for Hadley, but then Smotherman reels off a flurry of punches and a kick behind it.
Round Two:
Kick from Hadley strays to the groin and forces a brief stoppage at the start of the second round.
Back to it they go. Left hook from Smotherman. Inside leg kick for Hadley. left hand gets through for Hadley. exchange of punches in close. Knee strike to the body from Smotherman.
Another inside leg kick for Hadley. Solid one-two for Smotherman. Left hand for Hadley. Body punch from Smotherman.
Body punch from Hadley now. Smotherman returns the favor. Exchanges in close and Hadley lands a left hand.
Hadley picks out a punch to the body. Both targeting the midsection now. Back to the inside leg kick for Hadley.
Hadley leads with his fingers and causes an eyepoke as a result. Smotherman understandably needs significant time to recover from that. Four minutes later he’s ready to continue, but before he does the ref deducts a point from Hadley.
Back to it they go again. Immediately they are throwing down at close range, but then Hadley changes things up with a takedown attempt. Smotherman able to prevent that but is now being pressed up against the cage.
Not much happening from there, but Hadley does land a punch as he backs out late in the round.
Round Three:
Smotherman pressing forward with punches and Hadley is trying to respond in kind. Hadley reaching for a takedown again, but Smotherman defends as he gets pressed up against the cage.
Hadley backs off. left hand for him. Smotherman swinging hard but not quite finding the mark. Inside leg kick for Hadley. Now a left hook.
Hadley with a jab. Kick from Smotherman. One-two from Hadley. Body punch from him. Smotherman goes to the body too. Now a jab for him. Smotherman steps in and lands another body punch.
More body work from Smotherman. Now a right hand a left behind it. Smotherman backing Hadley up here. He land to the body again. Now a right hand over the top. Punches to the body and a knee now. Another solid knee lands to the midsection.
Grazing left hand from Hadley. Another left lands. Kick from Smotherman lands to the groin and forces another stoppage.
Hadley soon ready to continue. Left hand for Hadley. Series of right hands with a left hand inbetween from Smotherman, but Hadley also lands and might have hurt his opponent. Smotherman fights through it though in the remaining seconds of the round.
Decision:
A competitive fight then, but halted several times for strikes to the eyes and groin, one of which led to a point deduction for Hadley. Smotherman seemed to be getting the better of the action anyway despite coming in on short notice for the fight and so he emerges with a unanimous decision victory (30-26, 29-27 x2).
