RAYLEIGH’S Claire Smith brought the crowd to life with her entertaining bout against Lisa McCallum.

But she was unable to condemn her impressive opponent to her first ever defeat despite going toe to toe with her for all three rounds.

“I loved the fight and although I was disappointed with losing I really gave it everything I had,” said Smith.

“The atmosphere was crazy and it went mad when I got in the cage.

“I have never fought a fight with that much support and it made it really special.”

Despite the defeat, Smith also took great encouragement from her performance against the UK’s number one ranked fighter.

“I knew Lisa was going to be tough and she really was but I went three rounds with her and I’m really proud of myself for that,” said Smith.

“My next fight is now scheduled to be at UWC in October and I can’t wait to get back in that cage.”