Demetrious Johnson proved his worth at UFC on Fox 6. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Pushing a merciless pace, Johnson retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown with a unanimous decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 14 winner in the UFC on Fox 6 headliner on Saturday at the United Center in Chicago. All three cageside judges scored it for Johnson (17-2-1, 5-1-1 UFC): 48-47, 49-46 and 48-47.
Dodson (14-6, 3-1 UFC) spent himself in the first and second rounds, dropping the champion to a knee with a stout left hand in the first before staggering him with another in the second.
“I got dazed a little bit, but I’m in great shape,” Johnson said. “[Getting hit is] going to happen. It’s like going swimming. You’re going to get splashed.”
“Mighty Mouse” -- who secured takedowns in all five rounds -- never stopped moving forward, and he eventually wore down Dodson. In the fourth frame, Johnson brought the Thai plum into play, as he bludgeoned Dodson with repeated knees to the head and body. Much of the same unfolded in the fifth, where the champion appeared close to a finish on more than one occasion. Though Dodson kept his nose in the fight, the decision was lost.
According to FightMetric figures, Johnson out-landed his challenger in terms of significant strikes in all five rounds.
“It was a great fight,” Johnson said. “I spent 14 weeks in a hard training camp working on my muay Thai clinch and trying to become a better mixed martial artist.”
D. Mandel
Glover likely ended Rampage's UFC career.
Teixeira struck for half a dozen takedowns in the 15-minute bout and deployed his strikes at various levels, attacking the legs, body and head.
He dropped Jackson with a left hook above the ear in the first round and swarmed for a possible finish, but the notoriously durable “Rampage” answered the challenge and found a way back into the fight.
Left hooks to the head and body, jabs and the occasional uppercut kept Teixeira out in front. Jackson faded noticeably in the third round, succumbing to three takedowns in that frame alone. Teixeira closed out the most significant win of his career in full mount, firing away with elbows and punches over the final 30 seconds.
D. Mandel
Pettis folded Cerrone with knees and kicks.
Pettis set the tone from the start. Fighting from the southpaw stance, the 25-year-old Duke Roufus protégé ripped rights and lefts to Cerrone’s head. The Jackson’s Mixed Martial Arts export answered with a crisp knee, but Pettis shifted his focus to the body. It paid dividends.
Several kicks backed up Cerrone and one last shin to the side finished it.
“He’s dangerous,” Pettis said. “I didn’t want to go in there recklessly and get caught with a right hand or something stupid, so I played it safe. I knew I was going to finish him. Donald called me out. He shouldn’t have done that. He said I was scared. I ain’t scared to fight anybody. I want the champ, and I want that belt ASAP.”
D. Mandel
Lamas opened Koch's face with elbows.
“I’m a nervous wreck before all my fights,” Lamas said, “but being here with all my family and friends and fans made me more at ease for this fight than any other.”
Lamas kept his adversary tied up in the clinch for much of the first round and then went to work. The Chicago native slipped early in the second frame, leaving what appeared to be an opening for Koch (13-2, 2-1 UFC). However, Lamas sprawled, powered into top position and assaulted his 24-year-old foe from inside guard. Punches and elbows fell, increasing in intensity with each passing moment. One of the elbows sliced through flesh and opened a horrendous cut near Koch’s right eye. Soon after, the relentless Lamas barrage forced referee “Big” John McCarthy to intervene.
“If I get on top of you, you’d better watch out,” Lamas said. “I’m not letting you up until you’re bloody or knocked out.”
More UFC on Fox 6 » • UFC on Fox 6 Prelims: Guida Takes Split Verdict Over Hioki in Featherweight Debut