Daniel ‘DC’ Cormier keeps UFC light heavyweight crown
Filipino MMA fighter Jenel ‘The Demolition Man’ Lausa loses in second UFC fight
TWO times he was challenged for the title and two times Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight titleholder Daniel “DC” Cormier got the better of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
Facing off in the main event for “UFC 210” in Buffalo, New York, yesterday, Mr. Cormier made sure there would be no handing over of his UFC gold as he stopped Mr. Johnson anew by way of submission in the second round via rear-naked choke.
The win was the second successful title defense of Mr. Cormier against Mr. Johnson, whom the former beat the first time in May 2015 also by submission ( rearnaked choke) in the third round.
Earlier in the preliminary fight, meanwhile, Filipino mixed martial arts fighter Jenel “The Demolition Man” Lausa failed to win his second straight UFC bout, bowing to Russian Magomed Bibulatov by unanimous decision, 29- 26, 29- 26 and 29- 26.
Looking to gain early control of the match, Mr. Johnson pressured Mr. Cormier to start the opening round, throwing some kicks including one that hit the latter in the head.
The champion then started retaliating with knees to the body and had the challenger in a headlock momentarily before the latter got to wiggle out.
The two fighters got to mix it up, both going for a takedown but proved to be unsuccessful as the horn sounded.
In the second round, the combatants traded kicks to start things. Mr. Johnson went for a knee but missed it before Mr. Cormier took advantage of it and pressed the match to the fence.
The challenger managed to wrestler the champion down to the canvas but Mr. Cormier was quick to reverse things, putting his opponent down and on his back and landing punches.
Mr. Cormier then gets a choke and did not disengage thereafter before Mr. Johnson was forced to tap at the 3:37 mark.
The champion said after the win that he was surprised that Mr. Johnson decided to wrestle him.
“I couldn’t believe he was actually forcing the wrestling. We were okay giving up the first round. I didn’t want to take the head kick, but I knew as we went on, I would tire him and eventually get to him,” said Mr. Cormier, who improved to 19-1 after his latest victory.
For Johnson (22-6), the fight could well have been his last in the Octagon as he declared himself retired after the fight and would concentrate on other ventures.
“I gave my commitment to another job. Something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. It’s just time for me to move on to something else. I’m tired of getting punched by guys and rolling around on the ground with guys,” Mr. Johnson said.
In earlier fights in the main card, Gegard Mousasi defeated former UFC middleweight champion Chris “All American” Weidman in the second round by technical knockout; women’s strawweight Cynthia Calvillo was victorious over Pearl Gonzalez by submission ( rear- naked choke) in the third round; welterweight Thiago Alves beat Patrick Cote by unanimous decision ( 30- 27, 30-27 and 30 27); and lightweight Charles Oliveira submitted Will brooks (rear-naked choke) in the first round).
Meanwhile, Filipino Lausa had a hard time getting his offensive going against Mr. Bibulatov in slumping in his first UFC defeat.
With the Russian taking the tempo of the contest right from the opening round, Mr. Lausa was reduced to being on the defensive for much of the contest and never really got to inflict much damage on his opponent.
The loss dropped Mr. Lausa, who won his maiden UFC fight last year, to a 7- 3 record while Mr. Bibulatov improved his MMA card to 14-0 (1-0 in the UFC).
“Every defeat we suffer in life is an opportunity to learn. I will use this one to be a better fighter and a better representative of my country. Thanks for all the support!” said Mr. Lausa over Facebook after his defeat.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost directto-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —