WASHINGTON, D.C.–UFC successfully made his debut at our nation’s capital that featured a series of exciting bouts at the Verizon Center in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. In the main event, UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz exemplified what defense and endurance are all about, winning a unanimous decision over Demetrious Johnson (9-2) after five fast-paced rounds that saw both guys deliver in terms of high level technique.
Both fighters displayed amazing quickness and speed. Cruz, who held a decent height advantage over his challenger, was able to thwart a lightning fast takedown attempt and momentarily gained side control in the opening frame. Johnson was versatile in mixing up his striking, but Cruz’s top notch defense did not allow the Kirkland, Washington native to land with much success. The energetic Johnson was the aggressor in round two, but the champion was again, able to defend incoming punches and takedown attempts and landed a hard knee blow to the midsection. In the third, Cruz threw his shorter opponent with a suplex and sunk in a rear naked choke. Johnson somehow managed to escape and got back on his feet but was taken down again shortly after.
Cruz finally gained full mount in the fourth, but the slick Johnson slipped out again. Neither appeared to have definitive advantage in the standup in terms of striking, but Cruz was able to accrue points with takedowns.
The fifth and final round saw a desperate Johnson come out swinging, but Cruz executed another Greco Roman suplex and sustained his dominant position from the top. In the closing seconds, an overzealous Johnson ran into a hard knee by Cruz and was taken down again by the champion. Judges’ scores were 50-45 (twice) and 49-46 for the champion.
With the win, Cruz extends his record to 19-1 and retains his UFC title for the second time.
STRUVE TAPS BARRY
After a tactical start between two usually explosive heavyweights, the ending came to an amazing finish as Netherlands’ Stefan ‘Skyscraper’ Struve (26-5) submitted New Orleans, LA’s Pat Barry (6-4) in the second stanza. It was a kickboxing affair in the first round with both fighters not having much success. In the second, the Dutch went for a guillotine choke and then transitioned to a triangle choke. Barry then responded with a Quinton Jacksonesque power bomb from while the triangle was still applied , but the slam did not appear to hurt Struve as he held onto the choke, forcing Barry to tap at the 3:22 mark.
JOHNSON RUMBLES THE SPANIARD
Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson kept himself relevant within the welterweight ranks by scoring an impressive TKO win over the spoiler minded Charlie ‘The Spaniard’ Brenneman (14-3). From the opening seconds, Johnson went for the knockout and Brenneman did his best to evade strikes and shot in for a double leg takedown. Johnson sprawled and landed some knees to the body and gained dominant position on the ground. When Brenneman got back up, there was a picture perfect kick by Johnson that connected at the noggin and the referee immediately stopped the contest when Brenneman fell to the canvas. The official time of the stoppage was 2:49 of the first round. With the win, Johnson improves his ledger to 10-3.
WIMAN REPEATS VICTORY OVER DANZIG
It was a rough and tough battle between former foes Mac Danzig (20-9-1) and Matt Wiman (14-6) as these lightweights duked it out for the second time. The first match ended in controversy when Wiman was credited with a guillotine choke that Danzig seemingly did not submit to. The rematch went to the distance and it was Danzig who appeared to have done a bit more to outwork and out-grind his familiar foe. While Danzig might have been the busier guy, Wiman didn’t wilt and proved his superior strength with harder punches. Danzig secured takedowns in rounds two and three, but didn’t do enough on the judges’ scorecards that all read 29-28. Fans in the arena booed the decision
Unbeaten British submission specialist Paul Sass (12-0) impressed the crowd, defeating Michael Johnson (10-6) inside the first frame in a battle of lightweights. Johnson clearly held the upper hand striking, staggering the jiu jitsu minded Sass with punches and kicks. Just when it appeared as though things were going in favor of Johnson, Sass pulled guard and was able to secure a heel hook to force the tap at the 3:00 mark.
Washington D.C’s own Mike ‘The Hulk’ Easton (11-1) brought the fans to their feet, putting on a decisive victory over Lynchburg, VA’s Byron Bloodworth (6-2) in two rounds. After a slow feel out first round, Easton, who was cheered on by a large portion of the D.C. crowd, displayed his explosive Muay Thai attack and landed hard leg kicks that appear to take its toll on his opponent. During a clinch, Easton delivered knees to the head and body that dropped Bloodworth to the canvas. A series of unanswered punches soon followed, prompting the ref to stop the contest at 4:52 of the second round.
In a crossroad bout between two lightweights, Canada’s TJ Grant (17-5) scored a controversial 3rd round submission victory over former NCAA All-American Shane Roller (10-5). It was an exciting tussle with both fighters securing dominant positions and making several different submission attempts. In the third, Grant went for a guillotine and transitioned to an arm bar that did not appear to be fully locked. Roller did not tap, but made a sound that convinced the ref Frank Yamasaki to stop the bout. The arena filled with a jeer of boos contesting the nature of the stoppage.
Two welterweight veterans made their respective return to the UFC, but it was Josh Neer (32-10-1) who came out on top with a stoppage win over Keith Wisniewski (28-12-1). It was a grueling affair between two experienced guys and neither guy wasted any time once the bell rang. Neer, also known as the ‘The Dentsist’ was the aggressor, throwing hard elbows and punches aimed at the head. Wisniewski retaliated hard at the end of the first round and hurt his foe with shots to the rib. Neer unleashed a relentless attack of elbows to the head in round two, causing cuts on Wisniewski’s both eyes, who began to bleed profusely. After the second round, the bout was stopped at the doctor’s advice.
Lightweight Yves Edwards (41-17) got back on the winning track, scoring an explosive TKO stoppage win over Brazil’s Rafaello Oliveira (14-4). Edwards landed a left hook that dropped Oliveira but was unable to finish. A left kick dropped Oliveira again, but this time, Edwards jumped in to land punches from the top, prompting the referee to step in at 2:44 of the second round.
Opening bout of the evening saw a bantamweight bout between Walel Watson and Joseph Sandovol. Watson quickly disposed of his foe with a hard right kick followed by punches to the head, earning the W at 1:17 of the first round.
