Anthony Smith had something to prove at UFC 301 and it’s safe to say he got his point across.

Accepting a callout from Vitor Petrino for Saturday night’s card in Brazil, the one-time UFC title challenger felt like he was being disrespected as if he was being viewed as a veteran prime for the picking by a top prospect. Smith put that notion to bed after he stuffed a takedown from Petrino but then latched onto a guillotine choke before falling to the ground and wrapping up his guard.

The grimace on Petrino’s face was undeniable as he winced and then tapped out with the end coming at just 2:00 into the opening round.

“When [Dustin] Poirier kept jumping those guillotines, I said in practice, I don’t have any guillotine finishe — I called that weeks ago,” Smith said afterward. “At the end of the day, there’s levels to this shit. You’ve got to remember, this guy is undefeated. He had no reason to question himself or back out of something.”

Prior to the submission, Smith did some work on the feet as well after he snapped off several leg kicks that connected flush on Petrino. While the Brazilian was still loading up with a massive right hand, he failed to connect with anything clean as he pursued Smith around the cage.

Smith stayed patient in the exchanges with Petrino constantly seeking the knockout but not quite finding a home for his biggest punches.

That’s when Petrino rushed forward and looked for the takedown, which ultimately spelled his doom. As soon as Petrino ducked his head down, Smith saw the opening and he snatched the guillotine choke before falling to the canvas to lock up the submission.

It was an impressive finish for Smith, who gets back in the win column following a loss to Khalil Rountree Jr. in his previous outing. He also had a message for those who may have been questioning him heading into Saturday night.

“Wins go away fast,” Smith said. “You forget what it feels like to win, even a short time. For all you haters out there, maybe I’m not so f*cking old.”