UFC Fight Night 107 results: It wasn't pretty, but Timothy Johnson edges Daniel Omielanczuk

LONDON – It wasn’t pretty, but for Timothy Johnson, at least it was a win over the smaller, speedier Daniel Omielanczuk.

On the strength of his clinch game and takedowns, with a little help from his brawling style on the feet, Johnson (11-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) squeezed out a split-decision victory over Omielanczuk (19-7-1 MMA, 4-4 UFC) with scores of 28-29, 30-27 and 29-28.

The heavyweight bout was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC Fight Night 107 event at The O2 in London. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

For Johnson, the challenge was in finding a way to slow down the fleet-footed Omielanczuk, who owned the early exchanges on the feet as he darted in and out, showing off his superior hand speed while peppering Johnson with short punches and sharp uppercuts.

Johnson solved that problem largely by bulling his way in and trapping Omielanczuk against the fence, using his size and his strength to wear his opponent down. A takedown late in the second helped Johnson begin to turn the tide, and his straight-ahead striking style began to pay dividends in the third, as he capitalized on Omielanczuk’s tendency to retreat directly into the fence.

As the two heavyweights slowed down in the final minutes, Johnson’s extra bulk and superior wrestling ability may have made the difference, as he did just enough to convince two of the three judges to give him the win.

The win is Johnson’s first since a split-decision loss to Alexander Volkov last November. Omielanczuk has now lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 107 results include:

• Timothy Johnson def. Daniel Omielanczuk via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
• Leon Edwards def. Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Marc Diakiese def. Teemu Packalen via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:30
• Brad Scott def. Scott Askham via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
• Lina Lansberg def. Lucie Pudilova via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 107, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Simon Head contributed to this report on site in London.)