UFC Fight Night 138: Volkan vs. Smith | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy

Dana Black
May 20
7 min read

1. Introduction

2. First UFC in New Brunswick — The McGregor Brawl Fallout

3. Quick Stats

4. Main Event: Smith Survives & Submits Oezdemir in Round Three

5. Don Madge’s 14-Second Debut PoN, Kattar’s TKO & The Card

6. Full Results

7. Bonuses & Awards

8. Records & Milestones

9. Legacy & Impact

10. FAQ

Introduction

UFC Fight Night 138: Volkan vs. Smith took place on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at Avenir Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 531,000 average viewers (805,000 peak, 237k FS2 prelims). The card drew 6,282 fans for a gate of $528,211 USD ($692,000 CAD). It was the first UFC event in New Brunswick. The main event was a light heavyweight bout between Volkan Oezdemir and Anthony Smith.

Smith submitted Oezdemir with a rear-naked choke at 4:26 of round three, earning Performance of the Night. Smith had survived significant leg kick damage in round one before rallying to secure the submission in round three. Don Madge earned Performance of the Night for a 14-second head kick in his debut. Nasrat Haqparast and Thibault Gouti earned Fight of the Night. The co-main event was reshuffled when Zubaira Tukhugov was removed from the card following the UFC 229 post-fight brawl.

First UFC in New Brunswick — The McGregor Brawl Fallout

The Moncton card arrived just three weeks after the UFC 229 Khabib vs. McGregor post-fight brawl, in which Zubaira Tukhugov was one of the fighters who entered the octagon and exchanged blows with McGregor. The UFC removed Tukhugov from the FN138 co-main event booking as a result. Artem Lobov — Tukhugov’s original opponent — was left without an opponent until Michael Johnson stepped up, missing weight by one pound at 147 lbs. Lobov accepted the catchweight fight and waived the 20% penalty Johnson would have owed him.

Smith’s Moncton main event was the third step in his LHW career run since moving up from middleweight: KO of Rashad Evans at UFC 225 in round one; KO of Shogun Rua at UFC Fight Night 134 in Hamburg in round one; and now the Oezdemir submission. Oezdemir had gone from a 2-0 UFC LHW record — including a first-round KO of Misha Cirkunov and a first-round KO of Jimi Manuwa — to a UFC LHW title shot against Daniel Cormier at UFC 220, losing by third-round TKO.

Quick Stats

📅 Date: Saturday, October 27, 2018 (1st UFC in New Brunswick, Canada)

📍 Venue: Avenir Centre, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

👥 Attendance: 6,282

💰 Gate: $528,211 USD ($692,000 CAD)

📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 531,000 avg. viewers (805k peak, 237k FS2 prelims)

[🏆] Main Event: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Anthony Smith — LHW (Smith on LHW 2-win streak; Oezdemir post-title-fight rebuild)

✅ Result: Smith def. Oezdemir via Submission (RNC) — R3, 4:26 (PoN $50k; Smith survived vicious leg kicks R1; Smith now 3-0 at LHW; RNC secured after R3 takedown)

Main Event: Smith Survives & Submits Oezdemir in Round Three

Oezdemir’s LHW reputation was built on first-round stoppages — he had never been to round three in the UFC before Moncton. His leg kick game in round one against Smith was described as vicious; Smith absorbed significant damage and appeared at risk of the fight being stopped on foot injury. His decision to continue and his competitive resilience through rounds one and two was the most character-revealing sequence of his UFC LHW career to that point.

Round three produced Smith’s leg sweep, a knockdown, a takedown, and the eventual rear-naked choke from back control at 4:26. The submission validated Smith’s growing reputation as a LHW fighter who could both absorb punishment and produce finishes: three consecutive UFC LHW wins, all by stoppage — two first-round KOs and a third-round RNC. His Moncton result earned him the UFC LHW title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 235 in March 2019.

Don Madge’s 14-Second Debut PoN, Kattar’s TKO & The Card

Don Madge’s debut Performance of the Night was one of the year’s most striking individual debut moments. The South African lightweight landed a head kick 14 seconds into round two of his UFC debut against Te Edwards, producing an emphatic introduction to the UFC lightweight division. Debut PoN bonuses reflect a threshold of finishing quality that most UFC debutants don’t achieve; Madge’s 14-second head kick placed him among the year’s most impressive individual debut bonus performances.

Calvin Kattar’s TKO of Chris Fishgold was a significant FW preliminary result. Kattar was a Lawrence, Massachusetts featherweight with a submission and striking background; Fishgold was a British FW who had made noise with the short-notice Limassol FN debut in 2017. Sean Strickland’s preliminary decision over Nordine Taleb extended his UFC WW career build. His Moncton win was one of several consecutive wins before his UFC MW career and eventual championship run.

Full Results

Main Card (Fox Sports 1)

Anthony Smith def. Volkan Oezdemir — Submission (RNC) — R3, 4:26 — LHW (PoN $50k; Smith 3-0 LHW; survived vicious R1 leg kicks; RNC after R3 sweep/takedown)

Michael Johnson def. Artem Lobov — Unanimous Decision (29-28x2, 30-27) — FW (catchweight; Johnson MISSED WEIGHT at 147 lbs; Lobov accepted; Lobov waived 20% penalty; co-main reshuffle after Tukhugov UFC 229 removal)

Misha Cirkunov def. Patrick Cummins — Submission (arm triangle) — R1, 2:40 — LHW

Andre Soukhamthath def. Jonathan Martinez — Unanimous Decision (30-26, 29-28x2) — BW

Gian Villante def. Ed Herman — Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) — LHW

Court McGee def. Alex Garcia — Unanimous Decision — WW

Preliminary Card (FS2 / UFC Fight Pass)

Sean Strickland def. Nordine Taleb — Unanimous Decision — WW (Strickland building WW career; future UFC MW champion at UFC 293 Sept 2023!)

Nasrat Haqparast def. Thibault Gouti — Unanimous Decision — LW (FotN $50k each; Haqparast rocked Gouti repeatedly but Gouti survived to the final bell; both earned FotN)

Calvin Kattar def. Chris Fishgold — TKO — FW (Kattar building FW career; future FW top-5 contender)

Talita Bernardo def. Sarah Moras — Unanimous Decision — Women’s BW

Don Madge def. Te Edwards — TKO (head kick) — R2, 0:14 — LW (PoN $50k; DEBUT; 14-second head kick in R2!)

Arjan Bhullar def. Marcelo Golm — Unanimous Decision — HW (Bhullar Canadian-Indian HW building career)

Stevie Ray def. Jessin Ayari — LW

Bonuses & Awards

🥇 Fight of the Night: Nasrat Haqparast + Thibault Gouti — $50,000 each

🥇 Performance of the Night: Anthony Smith + Don Madge — $50,000 each

Records & Milestones

• Smith’s 3rd consecutive LHW PoN (Evans KO, Shogun KO, Oezdemir RNC) — all three wins since moving to LHW by stoppage.

• First UFC event in New Brunswick, Canada.

• Zubaira Tukhugov’s removal from the card — direct consequence of the UFC 229 McGregor post-fight brawl.

Legacy & Impact

Smith’s Moncton submission of Oezdemir produced the UFC LHW title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 235 in March 2019, where Jones stopped him by TKO in round four. Calvin Kattar’s Moncton TKO win over Fishgold was the beginning of a FW career phase that produced wins over Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas, and Dan Ige before his Fight of the Night epic with Max Holloway at UFC on ABC 1 in January 2021.

Sean Strickland’s Moncton win over Taleb was one of his final WW appearances before his move to middleweight, which produced consecutive MW wins and the UFC MW Championship shock upset of Israel Adesanya at UFC 293 in September 2023. Don Madge’s debut PoN opened a UFC LW career that produced additional wins before eventual setbacks.

FAQ

Why was Tukhugov removed from the card?

At UFC 229 on October 6, 2018, following Khabib Nurmagomedov’s submission of Conor McGregor, members of Khabib’s team entered the octagon and attacked McGregor. Simultaneously, Zubaira Tukhugov — a teammate who had been watching from cageside — was involved in exchanges with McGregor outside the octagon. The UFC removed Tukhugov from the Moncton card as a disciplinary consequence. His original opponent Artem Lobov — a McGregor teammate — was then rebooked against Michael Johnson.

What was Smith’s round one situation?

Oezdemir’s leg kicks in round one were described as among the most damaging leg kick sequences Smith had received. Smith absorbed them without going down but his movement was compromised. His decision to continue and his competitive resilience — fighting through the leg damage and eventually rallying with strikes and grappling in rounds two and three — was described by media as one of his most character-defining UFC performances. The combination of surviving adversity and producing a finish was the narrative arc that distinguished the Moncton fight from his previous first-round stoppages.

Who was Don Madge?

Madge was a South African lightweight who had gone 7-2 professionally before his UFC debut in Moncton. His 14-second head kick in round two — landing at 0:14 of round two against Te Edwards, a New Zealander with UFC experience — was one of the year’s shortest bonus-earning individual performances. South African UFC fighters had a modest track record before Madge; his debut PoN raised his profile immediately within the LW division.

What was Artem Lobov’s situation?

Lobov was a 31-year-old Dublin, Ireland featherweight affiliated with Conor McGregor’s SBG team. His original UFC FN138 opponent had been Tukhugov — a matchup with obvious additional commercial context given the McGregor vs. Khabib aftermath. Michael Johnson replaced Tukhugov but missed weight by one pound. Lobov’s agreement to proceed at catchweight without the 20% penalty reflected his desire to compete and avoid another postponement.

What was the Haqparast vs. Gouti Fight of the Night?

Haqparast was a 23-year-old Kabul-born, Germany-raised lightweight who had gone 7-2 professionally before Moncton. Gouti was a French lightweight. Their FotN exchange — Haqparast landing heavy punches and body kick combinations throughout, with Gouti surviving repeated knockback moments to reach the final bell — produced the event’s most sustained competitive exchange. Haqparast’s unanimous decision was the expected result, but Gouti’s toughness throughout earned him the shared FotN bonus.

What was Oezdemir’s position after Moncton?

Oezdemir had gone from a prospect KO artist — two first-round KOs in his first two UFC LHW fights — to a title challenger who was TKO stopped by Cormier at UFC 220, then submitted by Smith in Moncton. His Moncton loss was the end of his title-challenger positioning. His subsequent UFC LHW career produced additional wins before fights against Volkan Oezdemir’s former foes in the division’s mid-tier.

References

UFC Fight Night 138: Volkan vs. Smith — Wikipedia

UFC Fight Night 138 — Tapology