The Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. tonight for UFC Live On Versus 6: “Cruz vs Johnson.” The event was headlined by a UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz and Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
Also on the card, rising welterweight star Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman tried for his third victory of 2011 when he faced Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, while Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve took on Pat “HD” Barry in heavyweight action. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC card.
UFC Bantamweight Championship
Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz vs Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson
Round 1:
As expected, the fight began very quickly as both fighters threw punches and kicks. Johnson looked to punch his way in, but Cruz landed a counter combination. Johnson clinched and Cruz threw him to the mat. Cruz moved to side control and threw short knees to the body and hammerfists to Johnson’s face. Johnson got back to butterfly guard and tried to use the cage to get back to his feet.
The fighters stood and Johnson was aggressive with kicks. Cruz threw him again, but Johnson reversed and attempted a kneebar as the fighters hit the ground. Cruz moved to side control and tried to take Johnson’s back. Johnson stood and took Cruz down very briefly. Both fighters threw right hands and Johnson connected. Cruz landed body kicks late in the opening round. 10-9 Cruz.
Round 2:
Johnson rushed in with a high kick in round two and Cruz took him down against the cage. Johnson worked back to his feet and both fighters landed knees to the body. A clinch followed and more knees were exchanged in close. Both landed more knees and punches over the top. Johnson avoided a knee and circled out. He landed leg kicks and jabs as Cruz stayed on the outside. A flying knee just missed for Johnson and knees were exchanged again. Cruz defended a takedown and took Johnson down. 10-9 Johnson.
Round 3:
The third round opened with kicks from both fighters and Johnson connected with a nice left hook. Cruz clinched and tried for a takedown, but Johnson shrugged him off. Cruz took Johnson’s back and suplexed him to the mat. He retained back control and tried to set up a rear-naked choke. Cruz secured the choke, but Johnson powered out.
Cruz switched to a neck crank, but Johnson scrambled out and got to his feet. Johnson landed knees and punches in close and Cruz circled away. He took Johnson down near the cage and punched from the top as Johnson attempted to battle back to his feet. Cruz threw short punches and elbows and kept Johnson down until the final seconds. Knees were exchanged at the bell. 10-9 Cruz, barely.
Round 4:
The fighters circled early in the fourth round and exchanged kicks. Cruz landed a leg kick and a stiff jab. Johnson scored with a pair of lunging punches and Cruz took him down against the cage. Cruz moved to side control and then to mount. Johnson held on to defend as Cruz punched to the body. Cruz postured up and landed a flurry, but Johnson escaped to his feet and threw a one-two. Cruz clinched and landed a knee, then took Johnson back down. Johnson got up and rushed in with punches, but Cruz clinched again. 10-9 Cruz.
Round 5:
Johnson was aggressive again with punches in the final round, but Cruz took his back and violently suplexed him to the mat. Cruz threw short strikes from Johnson’s half-guard until Johnson regained full guard. Cruz prevented Johnson from standing up and landed more short strikes. Johnson eventually managed to make his way to the cage and battled back to his feet.
Johnson closed the distance with punches and Cruz threw him to the mat. Johnson stood and was thrown down again. Once more, he got up and tried to get into range to land punches. Cruz simply took him down again and moved straight to mount. Cruz punched with his right hand and tried for a rear-naked choke. Johnson got up and was promptly taken down a final time. 10-9 Cruz.
Winner: Dominick Cruz by Unanimous Decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) after five rounds. He improves to 19-1-0 and remains the UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve vs Pat “HD” Barry
Round 1:
Struve stayed on the outside early on and threw occasional kicks to the body of his much shorter opponent. He mixed in jabs and kept Barry on the defensive. Barry tried to connect with lunging left hooks, but could not find his range. Struve landed a quick flurry and stayed out of range of Barry’s counterpunches. Barry began to throw kicks to the upper body of Struve, but Struve answered with kicks of his own. The crowd grew restless as Struve threw front kicks and jabs. Barry landed a leg kick late in the round. 10-9 Struve.
Round 2:
Struve opened the second round with a variety of kicks and quick punches. Barry fired back with leg kicks and a head kick that partially landed. More leg kicks landed for both fighters and Barry avoided a clinch attempt. He began to land with punches, but Struve closed the distance and tried to pull guard with a guillotine choke. Barry escaped, but Struve switched to a triangle choke. Barry picked Struve up and powerbombed him down, but it only tightened the choke and Barry was forced to submit.
Winner: Stefan Struve by Submission (Triangle Choke) at 3:22 of round two. He improves to 22-5-0.
Anthony “Rumble” Johnson vs Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman
Round 1:
Johnson opened the fight with punches and a head kick, then sprawled out of a takedown attempt. He landed short punches to the sides of Brenneman’s face as Brenneman relentlessly tried to grab onto Johnson’s leg. Johnson landed knees to the body and transitioned to the back. He wound up on top in Brenneman’s half-guard. Brenneman looked to secure a guillotine choke, but Johnson escaped and landed a head kick as the fighters stood. Brenneman dropped to his knees, then stood and was floored by another head kick. Referee Mario Yamasaki waved off the fight, but Brenneman appeared to be okay.
Winner: Anthony Johnson by TKO (Head Kick) at 2:49 of round one. He improves to 10-3-0.
“Handsome” Matt Wiman vs Mac Danzig
Round 1:
Wiman was aggressive with punches early on and Danzig clinched. He threw uppercuts as Wiman landed knees to the body. Wiman threw a kick to the body and Danzig fell to the mat. Danzig tried to set up a submission from the bottom, but Wiman easily avoided danger. Danzig stood and secured a guillotine choke. Wiman escaped, but ate a series of punches to the temples. The fighters traded punches and both landed. Danzig secured a Thai clinch and landed knees and punches over the top as Wiman threw standing elbows.
Wiman scored with a lead left hook and a leg kick. The fighters traded strikes in close and Danzig backed Wiman up to the cage. Wiman broke away with a kick to the body and walked Danzig down with two punches and a solid body kick. He followed with standing elbows and Danzig answered with punches. The fighters continued to tee off with punches and Wiman threw knees to the body. Wiman tripped Danzig to the mat, but Danzig stood before the bell. Excellent first round. 10-9 Danzig, barely.
Round 2:
The fighters traded punches again in round two and clinched against the cage. Danzig landed standing elbow strikes and took Wiman down. Wiman worked for a triandle choke from the bottom and switched to an armbar. Danzig was in danger, but managed to escape and landed some hard punches from the top. He settled into Wiman’s guard and threw short strikes.
Wiman attempted a Kimura from the bottom and Danzig fought his way out again. Danzig briefly struck from the top and the fight returned to the feet. In close, both fighters landed punches and short knees. An exchange of standing elbows led to another flurry of punches from both fighters. Danzig clinched and Wiman landed another elbow. 10-9 Wiman.
Round 3:
The fighters clinched early in the final round after an exchange of punches. Both continued to land standing elbow strikes and Danzig targeted the body with punches. He avoided a takedown attempt and landed a counter left hook. Both fighters threw knees to the body and Wiman landed a big elbow. Danzig unloaded with punches, to the delight of the crowd. Danzig reversed a takedown and punched from the top.
Danzig tried to take Wiman’s back as Wiman worked back to his feet. Danzig wound up on the bottom with Wiman in his half-guard. Wiman postured up and rained down big elbow strikes. More elbows scored for Wiman, but Danzig managed to regain full guard. Danzig stood and Wiman tried for another takedown. Danzig secured a guillotine choke at the bell. Excellent fight. 10-9 Wiman.
Winner: Matt Wiman by Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 14-6-0.
(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)