No Surprises at UFC Live 6
There was no lack of action at the Verizon Center in Washington Saturday night as Dominick Cruz defended his bantamweight title in dominating fashion.
Cruz (19-1 2-0 UFC) badly injured his hand in the first round but managed to outwrestle the speedy Demetrious Johnson for a unanimous decision. Cruz dislocated his middle finger and tore tendons throughout his hand causing the finger to come completely out of the socket.
The injury did little to slow the champion, as he continuously took Johnson (9-2 2-1 UFC) down the entire fight. Fans got to see a different side of Cruz that showed his ability to take the fight to the ground. He used the clinch and textbook grappling to control the 5-foot-3 Johnson.
Many in the MMA world were puzzled when Johnson was tabbed as Cruzʼs next opponent. The speedster did cause some problems for the bigger champion but Cruz was dominant throughout the fight. Cruz almost ended the fight twice with rear naked chokes and thunderously suplexed Johnson into the canvas during the third round (a highlight that will be replayed for some time to come).
The only downside for Cruz from this fight is the major injury. He suffered the same injury to his left hand before the Urijah Faber fight and it looks like the champ will be out of action for up to six months. The battle for the bantamweight belt wil unfortunately have to be put on hold for a bit.
Cruz wasnʼt the only fighter to make a splash Saturday night. Anthony Johnson re-introduced himself as one of the top welterweights in the world with a splashy first- round KO of Charlie Brenneman. Johnson (10-3 7-3 UFC) delivered a tantalizing leg kick to Brennemanʼs (14-3 3-2 UFC) head that sent the AMA Fight Club star directly to the canvas.
Referee Mario Yamasaki quickly jumped in to stop the fight, causing an immediate uproar that the fight had been stopped prematurely.
Johnson sprawled to defend a takedown attempt and began to throw knees and punches to Brennemanʼs body. As Johnson stood up he drilled Brenneman with the leg kick. Brenneman seemed to recover from the kick but Yamasaki stopped the fight. Nevertheless, Johnson was victorious and vaults back into the discussion of top-ten welterweights.
The co-main event saw the 23-year-old Stefan Struve submit top kick-boxer Pat Barry with a second round triangle choke.
In a highlight that people are scrambling to watch on Youtube, Struve worked from his back to secure the choke on Barry, who then lifted Struve off the ground and drove him into the canvas. Most men would have been sent flailing, but the 6-foot-11 (note: Barry is 5-foot-10, which made for the greatest height difference ever seen in a UFC fight) Struve worked brilliantly to tighten the grip and Barry was left with no choice but to tap. Barry has lost three of his last four UFC fights.
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