Quick Hitters

Johnson breaks UFC record with 11th title defense

LAS VEGAS — Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his flyweight title for a record-breaking 11th time, stopping Ray Borg by armor submission at 3:15 of fifth round Saturday night at UFC 216.

The card was the first major sporting event in Las Vegas since the mass shooting that killed 58 people this week. A moment of silence kicked off the pay-per-view portion of the event, then a handful of survivors and first responders were brought into the octagon and recognized as Everlast performed “America the Beautiful”. The UFC has pledged to donate $1 million to help victims and their families.

The 31-year-old Johnson (272-1) broke the defense record he shared with longtime middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

“Shout out to Las Vegas,” Johnson said. “Thank you so much to all the first responders.” Borg dropped to 11-3. “Ray Borg was running his mouth,” Johnson said. “I got the suplex and the armor, I knew I got it.”

Also, Tony Ferguson defeated Kevin Lee to win the UFC’s interim lightweight title. Ferguson survived a slam and another takedown, secured a triangle choke, and forced Lee to tap out at 4:02 of the third round.

“Whewwww!” Ferguson shouted after the fight. “Feels good. This is exactly the way I wanted it to be.”

Ferguson improved to 23-3, and Lee dropped to 16-3.

Johnson landed a heavy body kick in the first round and was able to gain top control, working from half-guard for most of the round while neutralizing any offense from Borg.

In the second round, Borg was able to press forward and secure a short takedown before briefly taking Johnson’s back. Johnson offered a quick reversal and was once again on top of Borg in dominant position.

The third round found Borg looking to secure another singleleg takedown early, only to be reversed once again with Johnson on top. Johnson’s ever-active smothering grappling rendered Borg ineffective for most of the first three rounds.