UFC 191 results: Demetrious Johnson beats John Dodson by unanimous decision

UFC 191 takes place Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, headlined by a UFC flyweight title bout pitting champion Demetrious Johnson against challenger John Dodson. In the co-feature, Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski finally meet after circling each other for a decade as two of the sport’s top heavyweight competitors.

UFC Flyweight Title: Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson

Johnson is one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world but has done little to capture the public’s imagination in the weak flyweight division. He defeated Dodson previously in a fight that was the closest of Johnson’s championship reign, but not that close. Dodson has a 17-6 MMA record with his only loss since 2009 coming to Johnson.

Round 1. Dodson comes out fast with some punches that don’t connect and a body kick. Johnson gives Dodson a few different looks as far as his posture early on. Johnson lands a right hook and shoots for a takedown but Dodson stuffs that. Johnson clinches and lands a couple of knees to the body. Johnson shoots in and grabs a single leg. He can’t get the takedown but does hold the leg to land a punch before breaking. Johnson tries for another takedown and again doesn’t get it. 10-9 Johnson.

Round 2. Johnson throws a head kick early. That’s something he has looked for a number of times throughout the fight. Dodson catches a kick, lands a few punches, and gets a takedown. He lands a few punches but then lets Johnson up, something that may have been a mistake. Johnson lands a punch and catches a kick himself, looks to take Dodson down. He can’t get it and backs off. Johnson darts in with a right hand and lands a knee from the clinch by the cage. Dodson throws Johnson down but then backs off. 10-9 Johnson.

Round 3. Johnson grabs a single leg again and uses it to land some offense even though he can’t get a takedown. Johnson is now strolling confidently while Dodson just isn’t effective in his offense. He leaps in with some punches but Johnson ducks out with ease and then moves right back in looking for shots of his own. Johnson lands a good 2 punch combination. Johnson looks for a takedown but Dodson blocks it. Johnson gets a takedown late. Dodson stands up but Johnson takes him back down. Dodson gets up a second time and they return to the feet as the round comes to an end. Johnson runs in with a flying knee at the close but gets caught with a counter punch. 10-9 Johnson.

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Round 4. Johnson charges in with punches that land early. Dodson tries to answer with offense of his own but whenever he throws a shot, Johnson just backs right out of danger and then moves right back in for offense of his own. Dodson may be faster in an absolute sense but Johnson is much, much better at controlling the range of the fight. 10-9 Johnson.

Round 5. Johnson lands a straight right hand early, one of his best blows of the fight. Johnson clinches and lands a knee to the body. Johnson gets a takedown less than two minutes in. Dodson returns to his feet, eats a knee to the head, and backs off. Johnson shoots in and grabs the familiar single leg again late. He slams Dodson down hard but Dodson quickly gets up. Johnson lands a hard straight punch back on the feet. Dodson connects with a left hand and then a knee to the head. They clinch with 30 seconds left. The fight comes to an end. Johnson walks away from Dodson confidently while Dodson raises his hands as if he won. 10-9 Johnson, 50-45 Johnson.

Winner: Demetrious Johnson, unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 50-45).

Andrei Arlovski vs. Frank Mir

Arlovski, once considered a spent force, has revitalized his career with 7 wins in 8 fights including knockouts of Antonio Silva and Travis Browne. He could be on the verge of a title shot if he can defeat Mir. Mir likewise was once thought done but is coming off back-to-back first round knockouts over Todd Duffee and Antonio Silva. Mir and Arlovski were supposed to fight at various points in the past as both are former UFC heavyweight champions and Arlovski won the title when Mir was forced to vacate it after a motorcycle accident.

Round 1. Arlovski attacks first, darting in with a short straight punch. Mir clinches and they work by the cage briefly before breaking. Arlovski lands a nice right hand and backs away. Mir connects with a looping left hand and clinches again. They separate in short order. Arlovski lands a hook and an uppercut and they clinch again by the cage. 10-9 Arlovski.

Round 2. Mir shoots in and makes a real effort for a takedown. He gets Arlovski down to the mat, which spells big trouble for the native of Belarus. Mir concentrates on throwing punches and some hard elbows to the body. Arlovski holds on and the referee stands them up. That was a big missed opportunity for Mir. On the feet, both men look pretty slow. Arlovski is moving more but not throwing a lot while Mir is a mostly stationary target. Arlovski lands a right punch. Mir just stands in position and smiles. 10-9 Arlovski.

Round 3. They clinch to start the round. Nothing of note is happening. Arlovski lands a punch and then Mir lands one. Mir drops Arlovski with a punch and lands some punches from the top. Mir looks to set up a kimura but can’t get it and they return to the feet. They clinch for a while before being separated. Arlovski lands a few punches late. Mir is bleeding badly. Awful fight. 10-9 Mir, 29-28 Arlovski. A lot of people are likely to score the last two rounds the other way, but with the second Mir was at an almost unprofessional level of passivity for minutes on end and in the third Mir dropped Arlovski with the biggest shot of the round.

Winner: Andrei Arlovski, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

Other results:

In preliminary action, Joaquin Silva picked up a split decision win in a close contest over Nazareno Malegarie while Joe Riggs was given a completely undeserved disqualification win over Ron Stallings by referee Jason Herzog. Riggs suffered a severe eye injury in the first round. In the second round, he was caught with an illegal upkick and elected not to continue due to the eye injury. Despite the fact that the eye injury that caused the fight to end had nothing to do with the rule infraction, Riggs was improperly and unjustly ruled the victor.

Clay Collard vs. Tiago Trator

Collard at age 22 is one of the youngest fighters in the UFC. He has been unimpressive thus far, going 1-2. Trator is 1-1 in the UFC, coming off a quick knockout loss against Mike de la Torre.

Round 1. Collard is the early aggressor, throwing a number of punches and kicks from distance while Trator tries to gauge distance. Collard clinches by the cage and looks for a takedown. He doesn’t get it and Trator lands his best early shots of the fight from close range. Collard keeps his hands low and sticks out his chin but Trator can’t capitalize. Trator gets a takedown but Collard immediately takes top position. Trator unsuccessfully looks for an armbar. Collard drops down a big elbow. Trator gets top position and nicely mounts Collard. Collard works back to his feet but Trator takes him back down and gets his back. Trator sinks in a rear naked choke but time luckily runs out for Collard. If it hadn’t, Trator likely would have gotten the submission. 10-9 Trator.

Round 2. Collard is again aggressive with his strikes early, pouring on with a quick pace despite the problematic ending to the first round. Halfway through the round, Collard drops Trator with a shot. He looks to finish with additional punches on the ground and has Trator in big trouble. Trator threatens with an armbar and then reverses Collard into top position. Trator works into full mount position. Trator looks for a choke but can’t get it and Collard gets top position again. Collard lands some punches from there and the round ends. 10-9 Collard.

Round 3. Collard comes out with his hands low again and gets cracked with a huge overhand right by Trator. He gets caught again with a straight right hand a little bit later. Collard’s pace has slowed in the third round but he does get a takedown. Trator stands back up. Collard looks for another takedown and then Trator looks for one. Trator gets Collard down momentarily but Collard gets up. Trator finally gets a takedown to close round. All three rounds there were reasons to give it to either man. 10-9 Trator, 29-28 Trator.

Winner: Tiago Trator, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington

Andrade is a solid contender in the women’s bantamweight division, going 4-1 in her last 5 UFC bouts. He ground game is a particular strength. Pennington is a gritty brawler with a fun style but only a 5-5 pro record. This is a rematch of a 2014 contest that Andrade won.

Round 1. They clinch right at the start of the bout and struggle for control. Andrade picks up Pennington and slams her down to the canvas. Andrade works from top position, landing punches and controlling Pennington. Pennington works her way back up, fending off a choke attempt and eating a hard knee to the body in the process. Andrade keeps the pressure on. She avoids a kimura attempt and gets a takedown briefly before Pennington gets back up. They swing wildly from close range and Pennington lands some hard knees and punches. That was the best offense of the fight thus far. Andrade gets another takedown late. 10-9 Andrade.

Round 2. They strike from distance early. You can see there’s more power in the strikes of Pennington. She lands a few nice punches. Andrade goes for a takedown but can’t get it. Pennington gets a takedown halfway through the round. Andrade grabs a guillotine choke and uses it to stand back up and land a few knees. Andrade lands a few punches by the cage, hurting Pennington. Pennington is able to recover her senses quickly. Pennington goes for a takedown and Andrade again grabs a guillotine choke as they go to the ground. Pennington is patient and escapes. She then lands a few punches from the top. Pennington takes Andrade’s back and grabs a rear naked choke late. Andrade looks to survive to the end of the round but she can’t hold out and has to tap out with a few seconds left.

Winner: Raquel Pennington, submission, round 2.

Francisco Rivera vs. John Lineker

Rivera is surging at bantamweight, going 4-2 with 1 no contest in his last 7 UFC fights. That’s even a little deceptive as the no contest was an overruled knockout victory for an ephedra drug test failure and one of the losses was to top contender Urijah Faber in a bout where he was doing very well before suffering an accidental eye poke that the referee missed. His most recent fight was a 21 second knockout of Alex Caceres. Lineker was a top flyweight contender, except he kept struggling to make 125 pounds in that division. He missed weight four times before UFC finally forced him to move up to 135 pounds here.

Round 1. Lineker comes out strong, throwing punches. He lands some shots that hurt Rivera. Lineker in particular hurts Rivera with some big hooks. Rivera responds by just going nuts, throwing back wild hooks of his own. They’re swinging with rapid fire punches from close range like Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama. Each connects with hard punches. Rivera goes down from a punch and Lineker looks to finish on the ground. Rivera survives, stands up, and starts swinging wildly again. They’re back to a frenzied exchange. Lineker hurts Rivera again, grabs a guillotine choke, and gets the submission. That was an incredible, wild spectacle while it lasted.

Winner: John Lineker, submission, round 1.

Paul Felder vs. Ross Pearson

This is an intriguing battle between two fighters with exciting standup styles. Interestingly, Felder is perceived as the fighter on the rise but he is actually older than the veteran Pearson. Felder is 10-1 in MMA, having lost for the first time in his last fight against elite contender Edson Barboza in an entertaining fight that went the distance. Pearson has generally been rotating wins and losses but has many victories over notable fighters including Dennis Siver, Spencer Fisher, George Sotiropoulos, Gray Maynard and Sam Stout.

Round 1. They each land hard shots early, Pearson a straight punch and Felder a knee. Felder clinches and they battle for position by the cage. They trade knees and elbows before separating. Pearson then shoots in and scores a takedown. Pearson lands a few shots from the top before Felder stands up. Felder lands a couple of elbows and knees in the clinch and looks for a takedown. Pearson catches Felder off balance late and knocks him down before following with a heavy punch as the round concludes. 10-9 Pearson.

Round 2. After a clinch oriented first round, the fighters compete from distance in the second. Both are fighting similarly, mixing in jabs and low kicks with power shots. They’re also exercising good defense, with not a lot of big offense getting through. Pearson lands a nice 2 punch combination late. 10-9 Pearson.

Round 3. Pearson lands a few nice punches early. Felder’s output in the third has been low. Pearson connects with a solid straight left hand. Felder has a fierce look on his face but he isn’t landing very much. Pearson isn’t either, though. Pearson hits Felder with a left hook late. 10-9 Pearson, 30-27 Pearson.

Winner: Ross Pearson, split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28).

Paige VanZant vs. Alex Chambers

UFC is grooming VanZant for big things. She has an entertaining action style and is being marketed on her good looks as well at just 21 years of age. She is coming off her biggest win over Felice Herrig. Chambers is a lightly regarded 36 year old Australian fighter coming off an armbar victory over Kailin Curran.

Round 1. They clinch and throw some punches from inside. They quickly break. VanZant catches Chambers with a hard right hook and backs her against the cage. VanZant lands some knees to the body and then backs off. Chambers connects with a solid right hook and then a few additional punches right to the jaw, her best offense of the fight. VanZant uses a beautiful trip takedown, lands some punches on the ground, and lets Chambers up. Chambers looks for a takedown but does not get it. Chambers does land a few nice punches to the head of VanZant. VanZant’s striking defense could still use some work but she makes up for it with her offensive aggression. Chambers attacks the leg late but can’t lock anything in. 10-9 VanZant.

Round 2. VanZant grabs a Thai plum and hammers Chambers with a knee to the body. She looks for a takedown but Chambers blocks that. VanZant returns to the clinch and goes back to work with offense in that position. In particular, she keeps using her knees. Chambers doesn’t have any answers in the clinch. VanZant just lands so much more. Chambers goes down from a shot but is able to get back up. VanZant takes her back down and continues to land punches as the round comes to an end. 10-8 VanZant.

Round 3. VanZant goes back to her sweet spot in the clinch. She goes for a choke on the ground. She can’t get that but nicely transitions to an armbar and gets the submission.

Winner: Paige VanZant, submission, round 3.

Corey Anderson vs. Jan Blachowicz

Anderson, a former Ultimate Fighter winner, is a well regarded prospect at just 25 years old. He is coming off the first loss of his career to Gian Villante and will seek to rebound impressively. Blachowicz is a Polish veteran coming off a setback against Jimi Manuwa that was his first loss since 2011.

Round 1. Anderson, the taller fighter, moves in with a few power punches up the middle. Blachowicz backs out of danger. Blachowicz then opens up. He lands a solid hook, the best shot of the early fight. Anderson clinches and looks for a takedown. Blachowicz avoids that and gets the takedown himself. Anderson gets right back up. He gets a takedown of his own and ends up on top in Blachowicz’s full guard. Blachowicz grabs an arm bar and might have gotten it except they were by the cage and that prevented Blachowicz from controlling and extending the arm. They return to the feet. Close round. 10-9 Anderson.

Round 2. Anderson lands a few punches and takes Blachowicz to the ground. Anderson works methodically from that position, consistently landing strikes to Blachowicz. Blachowicz isn’t able to do anything. Anderson’s offense isn’t anything special but Blachowicz is completely listless. 10-8 Anderson.

Round 3. Anderson gets a takedown right at the start of the round. Blachowicz looks for a kimura but gives it up and is back on the bottom like in the second round. Anderson works from the top with punches while Blachowicz mostly just lies there doing little to threaten Anderson or get up. Anderson looks for a rear naked choke but can’t get it. Blachowicz slowly gets up but has no energy and Anderson returns him to his comfortable canvas home. 10-8 Anderson, 30-25 Anderson.

Winner: Corey Anderson, unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 29-26).

Anthony Johnson vs. Jimi Manuwa

Johnson is an exciting knockout artist but one whose career has become engulfed by accusations of (and convictions for) domestic violence. Manuwa is a British striker with big knockout power of his own and this fight is unlikely to go the distance.

Round 1. Johnson throws a few heavy kicks and then hurts Manuwa with a right hook. He looks to finish but Manuwa recovers and Johnson instead takes Manuwa down. Manuwa stands up but is slammed right back down. Johnson holds Manuwa down as the crowd begins to boo. Manuwa gets back up and eats a punch. Johnson lands a few additional shots as the round concludes. 10-9 Johnson.

Round 2. Johnson drops Manuwa with a right hook. He lands an additional two punches on the ground and the referee steps in.

Winner: Anthony Johnson, TKO, round 2.

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