UFC 186: Johnson armbars Horiguchi; Rampage outpoints Maldonado
Flyweight conqueror Demetrious Johnson retained his UFC flyweight title with an incredible, buzzer-beating armbar finish of Kyoji Horiguchi in the closing moments of UFC 186 in Montreal on Saturday night.
See below for the complete results:
Demetrious Johnson def. Kyoji Horiguchi via fifth-round submission (armbar)
The king stayed the king in Montreal on Saturday night, as Demetrious Johnson retained the UFC flyweight title with latest submission in UFC history, finishing Kyoji Horiguchi via armbar with only one second left in the fifth and final round.
After a relatively competitive opening round, Johnson's impossibly furious pace, world-class conditioning and pressure wrestling took over, as he exhausted the challenger over almost 25 minutes.
The waning moments of the final stanza, Johnson - who had Horiguchi trapped in a crucifix - made a transition from raining down punches into a slick armbar, eliciting the tapout at 4:59.
A straight up spectacular finish by "Mighty Mouse."
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Fabio Maldonado via unanimous decision
It wasn't the mind-melting, world-destroying knockout he was aiming for, but Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was successful in his return to the Octagon on Saturday night.
In his first UFC bout since 2013, Rampage, who was almost forced off the card after Bellator (his former employer) filed an injunction, showed off a more varied attack, easily outpointing Fabio Maldonado with an array of punches, knees from the clinch and - surprisingly - leg and body kicks.
True to form, Maladonado, like some sort of iron-jawed Terminator, kept coming forward and absorbed some serious punishment, while doling out very little of his own.
It was a measured and mature performance and it'll be interesting to see who the UFC matches him up with next.
Welcome back, Rampage. Welcome back.
Michael Bisping def. C.B. Dollaway via unanimous decision
It was Michael Bisping's volume combinations versus C.B. Dollaway's anvil-like left hook, and in the end, activity won out over pure power.
The opening frame was fantastic, with Bisping outpointing Dollaway on the feet for much of the round until Dollaway floored him with a vicious left hook to the jaw. Bisping was able to shake out the cobwebs and survived to see the second stanza.
Over the final two rounds, Bisping outpointed "The Doberman" on the feet, scoring slick combinations while showing off superlative takedown defense. Dollaway threatened with heavy leather, but couldn't replicate the gigantic left hand that had him teetering on the precipice of victory in the first round.
The win keeps "The Count" in the top-10 at middleweight, while Dollaway, having dropped his second fight in a row, will have to go back to the drawing board.
John Makdessi def. Shane Campbell via first-round TKO
It won't show up on the official scorecards, but John Makdessi may have finished Shane Campbell twice.
After serving as target practice for Campbell's chopping leg kicks early, Makdessi sent "Shaolin" careening to the mat with a cracking right hook. Makdessi swarmed with a flurry of punches, but Campbell was somehow able to survive.
Makdessi didn't let up, though, and sent Campbell on another unscheduled trip to the floor in the waning moments of the round. This time, Makdessi was able to seal the deal, flurrying on a prone Campbell until the referee put an end to the punishment at 4:53 of the opening round.
Thomas Almeida def. Yves Jabouin via second-round TKO
Believe the hype.
In the main card curtain-jerker, Thomas Almeida's ever-improving striking was on violent display, as he needed just over four minutes to completely demolish veteran Yves Jabouin.
Jabouin hung tough early, but Almeida eventually stunned the Canadian with a vicious left hook to the jaw which he followed up with a flurry of heavy leather to the head and body until referee Yves Lavigne mercifully stepped in at 4:18 of the opening round.
Just a brilliant display of the old ultraviolence.
Patrick Cote def. Joe Riggs via unanimous decision
In a bout that seems out of place on a UFC card in 2015, Patrick Cote outworked fellow veteran Joe Riggs en route to a unanimous decision victory.
Although Cote didn't dominate Riggs by any stretch of the imagination, "The Predator" simply did more than "Diesel" for much of the 15 minute scrap, repeatedly escaping Riggs clutches on the floor to land busy (but definitely not devastating) ground-and-pound shots.
Riggs was able to secure Cote's back on multiple occasions, but really couldn't do much with the advantage and the Canadian was able to scramble free time and time again.
It wasn't awe-inspiring - or even remotely interesting - but the performance allowed Cote to return to the win column in front of his home crowd in Montreal.
Alexis Davis def. Sarah Kaufman via second-round submission (armbar)
Third times the charm for Alexis Davis.
Davis had already lost twice to Sarah Kaufman, and things didn't look great after the opening round of their bout Saturday night.
Kaufman lumped up Davis on the feet for six minutes, but Davis violently turned the tide a minute and a half into the second stanza, tossing Kaufman to the mat from the clinch, before working for a triangle choke.
When she couldn't lock up the triangle, Davis slickly transitioned to an arm-bar, eliciting the tap at 1:52 of the round.
Unfortunately, referee Jerin Valel wasn't in the correct position and Davis had to crank Kaufman's arm longer than necessary.
Chad Laprise def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision
It wasn't easy, but Chad Laprise used his superior technical striking to gut out a decision victory against Bryan Barberena.
It looked as though Laprise was going to absolutely run roughshod over Barberena in the opening frame, as the Canadian put on a kickboxing clinic, piecing up Barberena on the feet and spamming head kicks once he had his opponent worrying about body shots.
Laprise slowed considerably in the final two rounds, allowing Barberena to climb back into the bout by turning things ugly and unleashing an aggressive, clinch-heavy attack.
In the waning moments of the 15-minute affair, both men threw caution to the wind, and Laprise threw an array of spinning back kicks/fists while "Bam Bam" answered with heavy leather of his own.
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. David Michaud via third-round submission (rear-naked choke)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier showed off his grappling wizardry in the opening bout of the FS1 prelims, notching the fifth rear-naked choke finish of his career against David Michaud.
It was a spirited affair, with each man gaining the upper hand in periods, though Aubin-Mercier was in the driver seat for much of the 13-minute bout, and even dropped Michaud with a vicious body kick in the second stanza, but wasn't able to finish with the ensuing onslaught.
Aubin-Mercier showed off his slick grappling skills in the final round, easily establishing back control, before applying a body triangle and eventually sinking in a deep, fight-ending rear naked choke.
Very impressive stuff from the 26-year-old Canadian.
Nordine Taleb def. Chris Clements via unanimous decision
Chris Clements had nothing for Nordine Taleb on the floor, and that was the difference on Saturday night.
Taleb took Clements down at will and controlled the Canadian on the floor without unleashing too much damage, though he did open up a gash above Clements right eye with a massive elbow from top control.
Every time Clements was back up to his feet, he went for broke, employing the Bart/Lisa Simpson strategy of winging heavy shots in the hopes of turning things around with one clean shot.
It wasn't to be, though, as Taleb avoided almost everything Clements threw at him, and violently dragged him to the canvas whenever he felt he was in danger.
Valerie Letourneau def. Jessica Rakoczy via unanimous decision
The strawweights continued to shine in the second bout of the evening, as Valerie Letourneau generally outclassed Jessica Rakoczy in all aspects of the game en route to a spirited unanimous decision victory.
Rakoczy showed uncommon toughness during the 15-minute war, surviving an extremely tight triangle-choke/armbar in the first round, before having the right side of her face completely mangled as she sported some Hunchback of Notre Dame-esque swelling.
Unfortunately for Rakoczy, her toughness was rewarded with a steady stream of strikes on the feet, as Letourneau blasted her with punches, elbows and big kicks to the body.
Randa Markos def. Aisling Daly via unanimous decision
In the evening's curtain-jerker, Randa Markos and Aisling Daly engaged a grueling, scramble-filled brawl, with Markos emerging with her hand raised after 15 minutes.
Markos' high-level grappling was on display in the opening stanza, as she came close to choking Daly into unconsciousness with an incredibly tight arm-triangle.
Daly bounced back in the second, controlling "Quiet Storm" in the clinch along the cage, before opening up a big gash above Markos' eye with some ground-and-pound on the floor.
With the bout likely tied a round apiece, Markos took control in the final frame, dominating Aisling with suffocating top control and threatening with a deep armbar for much of the final 1:30 as Daly desperately tried to escape.
For the theScore's staff predictions, tap here.
Main Card
Demetrious Johnson (124.5) vs. Kyoji Horiguchi (124.5)
Quinton Jackson (216) vs. Fabio Maldonado (215)
Michael Bisping (186) vs. C.B. Dollaway (185.5)
Shane Campbell (161) vs. John Makdessi (160)
Thomas Almeida (135) vs. Yves Jabouin (136)
Prelim Card
Patrick Cote (171) vs. Joe Riggs (171)
Alexis Davis (135) vs. Sarah Kaufman (136)
Bryan Barberena (156) vs. Chad Laprise (156)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (155) vs. David Michaud (156)
Fight Pass Prelims
Chris Clements (170) vs. Nordine Taleb (170)
Valerie Letourneau (116) vs. Jessica Rakoczy (115)
Aisling Daly (116) vs. Randa Markos (116)