JOHNSON vs. CARIASO
After a brief feeling out process to kick off the bout, Johnson took Cariaso down in the second minute and went to work, trying to improve position in rapid-fire fashion. Cariaso’s defense was good, and he eventually made it back to his feet, although he remained in Johnson’s grip along the fence. With a minute left, Cariaso broke loose, but he was unable to do anything of note before the horn, as it was Johnson catching and stunning him in the closing seconds.
Johnson put the stand-up pressure on in round two, but a slip by Cariaso put the fight back on the deck. The champion moved into side control, letting loose with his strikes before locking up an arm. Moments later, Cariaso tapped out, with the end coming at the 2:29 mark.
With the win, Johnson improves to 21-2-1. Cariaso falls to 17-6.
CERRONE vs. ALVAREZ
Longtime lightweight contender Eddie Alvarez delivered on his promise in his highly-anticipated UFC debut, but Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone was a bit better in their UFC 178 co-main event Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, as he pounded out a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision victory.
Scores were 29-28 across the board for Cerrone.
Alvarez appeared to have a tough time getting a read on Cerrone in the early going, with “Cowboy” not going through the same difficulty as he tagged the Philadelphia native with punches and kicks. When Alvarez did get within striking range with under three minutes left, he was able to grab Cerrone and fire off a series of shots, but the Colorado native barely moved under the assault. Cerrone did get rocket briefly moments later, but it was the UFC vet finishing the round strong.
The first half of the second round saw Cerrone land several kicks and knees, and as the round progressed, it looked like he was starting to break Alvarez down. Alvarez was game, but with his takedown attempts coming up empty and his right eye bruising up, things were beginning to go downhill for him.
Alvarez knocked Cerrone off balance with a right hand early in round three, drawing a roar from the crowd, and the punch seemed to energize him as he moved forward. In the second minute though, it was Cerrone rallying and the two exchanged against the fence. Now it was a question of who wanted it more, and both lightweights fit that description, but Cerrone’s shots were more accurate, and the added dimension of his kicking game pushed him into the lead. With less than two minutes left, two kicks to the leg hurt and dropped Alvarez to the mat. Surprisingly, Cerrone followed Alvarez to the mat, allowing his foe to rest his leg, but “Cowboy” kept the pressure on with his ground strikes, sealing his hard-fought victory.
With the win, Cerrone improves to 25-6 with 1 NC; Alvarez, long seen as the best fighter not on the UFC roster before his signing earlier this year, falls to 25-4.
McGREGOR vs. POIRIER
It took less than two minutes to justify the hype behind Ireland’s Conor McGregor, who thrilled the fans from Ireland that bought 10 percent of Saturday night’s tickets as he knocked out number five-ranked featherweight Dustin Poirier in a single round.
ROMERO vs. KENNEDY
After a fairly tame round and a half, things got wild in the middleweight matchup between Yoel Romero and Tim Kennedy, with Romero pulling off an improbable third round stoppage victory that was touched by a tinge of controversy after Romero got several added seconds to recover on his stool after a second round in which he was almost stopped.
ZINGANO vs. NUNES
After a harrowing year and a half that included a serious knee injury and the untimely death of her husband, number one women’s bantamweight contender Cat Zingano returned to the Octagon for the first time since April of 2013 and picked up where she left off, stopping Amanda Nunes in the third round.
CRUZ vs. MIZUGAKI
It was like Dominick Cruz never left. After a three-year absence due to injury, the former bantamweight champion who never lost his title in the Octagon returned to active duty Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and he simply looked spectacular, knocking out number five-ranked contender Takeya Mizugaki in 61 seconds, capping off a dream comeback.
Sourced from UFC press release.
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