Defeated New Brunswick welterweight Christien Savoie on Dana White’s Contender Series

LAS VEGAS – Canadian welterweight Christien (Tiger) Savoie was stopped in the second round by undefeated American Jacobe Smith on Tuesday during Dana White’s Contender Series.

The 32-year-old from Saint John, NB, was the biggest underdog on the five-fight mixed martial arts card at plus-625, meaning a $100 bet would return $625 in winnings.

The oddsmakers were right. Savoie took a beating during the game.

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

Savoie (10-2-1) entered the bout undefeated in his last three appearances (2-0-1) in Fight League Atlantic, where he was the promotion’s first welterweight champion.

Ahead of Tuesday’s fight, a GoFundMe page was set up to get his support team to Las Vegas.

Smith, who has most recently campaigned 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 honors in 2018.

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

Savoie, who had a cut on the back of his head, could not handle Smith’s struggles 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 by Smith to defend himself.

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

Smith caught Savoie’s leg during a kick and knocked him down again early in the second round. Smith warned Savoie again – “You’ve got to get moving” – as the Canadian took damage on the ground.

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

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

The Contender Series hasn’t been kind to Canadians lately.

Brazil’s Nicolle Caliari submitted flyweight Corinne Laframboise for a first-round victory last month after compatriot Shannon (MMA Barbie) Clark was brutally knocked out by Venezuelan flyweight Yuneisy Duben, an 8-1 underdog.

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

Others who have advanced through the feeder series include Serhiy Sidey, who moved to Canada from Ukraine at the age of six and now calls Burlington, Ontario, home, and Brazilian-born Caio Machado, who now fights out of Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press