By Niall Clarke
- England’s Jimi Manuwa suffers a second round KO loss to Anthony Johnson
- Ross Pearson wins by split decision over Paul Felder
- Demetrious Johnson defends Flyweight title in the main event
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA- England’s Jimi Manuwa suffered his second career defeat after being knocked out by Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson in the second round.
Johnson (20-5), known for his explosive striking and knockout power, came out swinging in the opening exchanges and stunned the Brit with a right hand.
The American had worked hard on his wrestling after his loss to Light-Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in his last fight and looked to show them skills when he took Manuwa (15-2) down to the mat. Johnson maintained top position for the majority of the opening round and looked to advance to a dominating position in order to land some big strikes.
However Manuwa remained astute in defence and was able to find his way back to the feet towards the end of the round. The Brit landed some nice kicks as the horn sounded for the end of the first.
Johnson had scored eight knockouts in his UFC career prior to this fight and it was not long before he earned number nine. ‘Rumble’ had conserved his energy in round one and came out swinging again in the second. The fatal blow was an overhand right that knocked Manuwa to the canvas and two follow up punches signalled the end of the fight 28 seconds in to round two.
The former number one contender has taken a big step towards earning a second shot at the UFC Light-Heavyweight title with another knockout victory. He also earned a performance bonus for his knockout victory
Manuwa on the other hand has suffered his second career loss to a perennial title contender after losing to Alexander Gustaffson by TKO in London last year. The 35 year old must start again in his title pursuit.
On the Preliminary card, Sunderland’s Ross Pearson eked out a split decision victory over Paul Felder to get himself back in the win column
Coming in off a loss to Evan Dunham, the Brit was keen not to making it two in a row and in a close stand-up battle, the Brit edged enough exchanges to win by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28).
The pair would battle for position against the fence with Felder’s knee causing consistent trouble for Pearson as he ran into several shots while trying to counter with combinations. As the fight went on, the Brit adjusted to his opponents’ style. He started controlling the range and countered well with straight lefts and rights. The two would land some vicious kicks but in the end were denied the finish.
The action did not stop with the Brits however. In the co main event of the evening, Andrei Arlovski edged out Frank Mir by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) to stretch his winning streak to six straight fights.
The main event saw Demetrious Johnson defend his Flyweight title successfully against top contender John Dodson. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was able to nullify the offence of his opponent with some crisp striking but unfortunately could not finish the fight. Johnson came through a unanimous decision winner to retain his title and cement his place as one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet.
Full Results
Main card
Flyweight title bout: Demetrious Johnson def. John Dodson via unanimous decision
Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision
Light-Heavyweight bout: Anthony Johnson def. Jimi Manuwa via second-round KO
Light-Heavyweight bout: Corey Anderson def. Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision
Women’s Strawweight bout: Paige VanZant def. Alex Chambers via submission (armbar)
Undercard
Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson def. Paul Felder via split decision
Bantamweight bout: John Lineker def. Francisco Rivera via submission (guillotine)
Women’s Bantamweight bout: Raquel Pennington def. Jessica Andrade via submission (rear-naked choke)
Featherweight bout: Tiago Trator def. Clay Collard via split decision
Middleweight bout: Joe Riggs def. Ron Stallings via DQ (illegal upkick)
Lightweight bout: Joaquim Silva def. Nazareno Malegarie via split decision
The UFC returns on the 26th September for UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs Barnett.
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