UFC 207 results: Cody Garbrandt showboats, mostly dominates Dominick Cruz to take 135 title

LAS VEGAS – Cody Garbrandt solved a long-running enigma in the UFC bantamweight division, figuring out how to find Dominick Cruz’s chin.

Aided by a significant advantage in power, Garbrandt (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) found it over and over, repeatedly dropping Cruz (22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) to take home a unanimous decision and the title.

The bantamweight title bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC 207 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The final scorecards were 48-46 twice and 48-47 for Garbrandt, who ended Cruz’s second reign as champion in just his 11th professional fight after a long and heated campaign of trash talk.

Going into the fight, Cruz predicted the high emotions of the talk would take its toll on Garbrandt. But he was surprised to find himself the target of relentless mockery in the octagon as the challenger took his best shots and returned fire with heavy hands.

In the third round, one of those counters caught Cruz flush and dropped him to the mat, one of three trips the champ would take there. Although he would rebound from all of them, he wasn’t able to return fire with anything that stopped Garbrandt in his tracks. Only in the second round did he land a hook that briefly wobbled his opponent.

By contrast, Garbrandt knocked him down twice in the fourth round in what was an easy 10-8 frame. Badly cut from a clash of heads in the third, Cruz closed out the fight trying to headhunt, a stark reversal from earlier efforts.

Afterward, Garbrandt called out ex-champ and former Team Alpha Male teammate T.J. Dillashaw, setting in motion another rivalry as he picked up his sixth UFC win.

He then put the belt on 10-year-old Maddux Maple, a leukemia survivor he befriended several years ago.

Cruz suffers his first loss in nine years, with his last defeat coming against Garbrandt’s longtime coach, Urijah Faber, whom he outpointed a second time in his previous outing to regain the belt.

Nine years later, the student becomes the champ.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 207 results include:

• Cody Garbrandt def. Dominick Cruz via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-46, 48-46)
• T.J. Dillashaw def. John Lineker via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
• Dong Hyun Kim def. Tarec Saffiedine via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
• Ray Borg def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
• Neil Magny def. Johny Hendricks via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Antonio Carlos Junior def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Alex Garcia def. Mike Pyle via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:34
• Niko Price def. Brandon Thatch via submission (arm-triangle choke)
• Tim Means vs. Alex Oliveira ruled no-contest (accidental knee) – Round 1, 3:33

For complete coverage UFC 207, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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