UFC 197 results: Demetrious Johnson shuts down gold medalist Henry Cejudo in first

Demetrious Johnson

LAS VEGAS – This time Demetrious Johnson didn’t need five full rounds to defend his UFC flyweight title. This time he didn’t even need three full minutes.

The defending champ blasted challenger Henry Cejudo with knees from the clinch, sending the Olympic gold medalist reeling into the fence. That’s when Johnson (24-2-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) pounced, hammering Cejudo (10-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) with punches until referee John McCarthy stepped in and stopped the fight at the 2:49 mark of Round 1, giving Johnson the TKO victory.

The flyweight title bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC 197 event at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For Johnson, it was a performance as impressive as it was efficient, which is not to say that Cejudo didn’t manage some offense in the fight. In fact, the former Olympic wrestler managed something few other fighters have when he nabbed an early takedown against Johnson, tripping him to the floor shortly after the bout began.

Johnson didn’t stay there long, however, and after he’d kicked Cejudo off and scrambled back to his feet, that’s when the real beating began. With the fighters engaged in a roving clinch, Johnson began unloading with knees to Cejudo’s head, legs, and body, keeping him guessing and battering him with a slowly intensifying fury.

As Cejudo began to wither under the pressure, Johnson mixed in a short elbow to the head, then another knee to the skull that sent Cejudo staggering backward.

Johnson was in pursuit right away, slicing a straight left through the guard of a dazed Cejudo, then cracking him with more knees until the challenger collapsed in a heap. As Cejudo rolled to his belly, Johnson stood over him, blasting him with punches until the referee McCarthy had seen enough.

The win is Johnson’s eighth consecutive UFC title defense, and his 10th straight victory in the UFC. Cejudo loses for the first time in his pro career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 197 results include:

• Demetrious Johnson def. Henry Cejudo via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:45
• Edson Barboza def. Anthony Pettis unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Robert Whittaker def. Rafael Natal via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Yair Rodriguez def. Andre Fili via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 2:15
• Sergio Pettis def. Chris Kelades via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Danny Roberts def. Dominique Steele via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Carla Esparza def. Juliana Lima via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• James Vick def. Glaico Franca via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Walt Harris def. Cody East via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:18
• Marcos Rogerio de Lima def. Clint Hester via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:35
• Kevin Lee def. Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 197, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Matt Erickson contributed to this report on site in Las Vegas.)