Jacobe Smith lived up to the blue-chip billing.
The undefeated Fortis MMA prospect was one of five hopefuls to ink an Ultimate Fighting Championship contract during Week 8 of Dana White’s Contender Series, as he put away Christien Sovie with sustained ground-and-pound in the second round of their welterweight showcase on Tuesday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Smith (9-0, 1-0 DWCS) drew the curtain 2:55 into Round 2.
Sovie (10-2-1, 0-1 DWCS) was simply out of his depth. A onetime NCAA All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University, Smith executed multiple takedowns, battered his overmatched counterpart from various positions and hacked open multiple cuts, one of them across the bridge of his nose.