UFC 216 results: Insane Demetrious Johnson armbar forces Ray Borg tap in fifth round

In what may go down as the slickest finish in his record-breaking championship reign, Demetrious Johnson tapped Ray Borg with a fifth-round armbar.

Just when it appeared Johnson (27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) was going to cruise to an easy decision win over Borg (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC), “Mighty Mouse” threw Borg in the air, grabbed his left arm in one fluid motion and got a tapout from an armbar at the 3:15 mark of the fifth round.

With the win, Johnson broke Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive UFC title defenses with 11.

The flyweight title bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC 216 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

Johnson went to the outside and worked inside leg kicks. Then he went with a high left kick that forced Borg to block it. Moments later, Johnson kicked to the body. And when he went back to the body a second time, Borg tried to catch the kick, but found himself on the ground with Johnson holding on. After Borg got back to his feet, Johnson again kicked to the body. Borg held on to a single leg, but Johnson was in no danger. He grappled around and took Borg’s back and landed quick punches to the face. Borg rolled over and Johnson took over in half-guard. He worked short elbows and tried to set up an arm-triangle choke. He let Borg flirt with a guillotine, but Johnson passed to side control in a dominant first round.

Borg and Johnson tied up early in the second round, and Borg threatened with a standing guillotine choke. It wasn’t there, but Borg managed to get a takedown 90 seconds into the round. When Borg took his back and looked like he might get a rear-naked choke, Johnson expertly dumped Borg from his back, and the champ went to work on top. Johnson hammered with punches on top before Borg got back to his feet. With 70 seconds left, Johnson got a takedown and went right into side control.

Johnson again found himself working on top in the third. From side control, he punished Borg’s face. Midway through the fight, the UFC’s stats showed Johnson was ahead in the striking game a whopping 97-4. With 80 seconds left, Johnson got to full mount. Then he took Borg’s back and worked on the rear-naked choke. Borg got back to his feet late in the round, but continued to prove to be little threat to the champ.

Borg came out in a hurry in the fourth and scooped Johnson up for a takedown. But Johnson easily got up, then got on top and started working ground-and-pound with elbows to Borg’s head. When Borg got up, Johnson threw a jumping knee to the body. With 100 seconds left, Johnson threw Borg down to the canvas, and his head thudded off the mat.

Another Johnson takedown came quickly in the fifth. Borg still tried to fire some offense off when he got back to his feet, but it was right back down to the mat. And with three minutes left, Johnson jumped to full mount. He took Borg’s back, but had to deal with a scrambling opponent. But Johnson stayed right on him.

But just when it appeared Johnson was going to cruise to a decision, he did what we’ve started to expect from him. He picked Borg up for a slam, threw him in the air, and took him right into an armbar. He torqued, then re-gripped and forced Borg to tap.

Johnson won for the 13th straight time and won his 12th straight title fight. His 11th straight defense of the flyweight belt set a new UFC record for consecutive title defenses. Borg had his two-fight winning streak snapped and lost for the first time in 18 months.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 216 results include:

• Demetrious Johnson def. Ray Borg via submission (armbar) – Round 5, 3:15
• Fabricio Werdum def. Walt Harris via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 1:05
• Mara Romero Borella def. Kalindra Faria via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:54
• Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham declared majority draw (29-28, 28-28, 28-28)
• Cody Stamann def. Tom Duquesnoy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata declared draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
• Poliana Botelho def. Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Matt Schnell def. Marco Beltran via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• John Moraga def. Magomed Bibulatov via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:38
• Brad Tavares def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

For complete coverage of UFC 216, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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