Dana White reacts to Anthony Smith’s submission win over Devin Clark

UFC president Dana White reacted following Anthony Smith’s slick triangle choke submission win over Devin Clark at UFC Vegas 15.

Smith had suffered brutal losses to Glover Teixeira and Aleksandar Rakic earlier this year, so he had a lot to prove here against Clark in a fight that filled in as the main event on short notice. Although the bout was scheduled for five rounds, Smith didn’t need that much time to get the job done as he was able to lock in the submission and coax the tapout over Clark in the first round. It was a much-needed win for Smith, who figures to still remain in his customary spot in the 205lbs top-10 rankings.

Following UFC Vegas 15, Smith’s boss White was asked about his performance. Check out what White told the media about Smith’s finish (via MMAjunkie.com).

“He looked awesome. He came in to make a statement, and message received. He looked good,” White said.

The UFC bossman said that he was impressed that Smith was willing to fight an unranked opponent like Clark with so much on the line. Had Smith lost this fight, he might have been dropped out of the top-15 rankings altogether. But he took the fight and put on one of his best performances in years, earning a 50k bonus in the process.

“These are the things you’ve got to do. You’ll see in this business a lot, guys who try to hold their spots and not fight anybody. That ain’t the way to do it. What he did tonight, that’s the way you do it. Are you still that good? If you’re still that good, then you should go out and do what you did tonight to a guy like Devin Clark, a young, hungry stud who wants to work his way up and steal your spot. You’ve got to go out and make a statement, and he did that tonight. People respect that,” White said.

What do you think Dana White should do with Anthony Smith next?