UFC flyweight Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his title for a ninth time against Tim Elliott in Las Vegas on Snday morning.
Johnson took control of the fight after a nervy first round that saw his opponent, “The Ultimate Fighter 24” winner Elliott, nearly score a famous early win.
Elliott flew out the traps and looked to make the most of his wrestling ability to put Johnson on the back foot and it looked as if he was going to pull off a huge upset until Johnson fought back.
“Tim Elliott’s a hell of a fighter,” said Johnson after the fight. “It’s like wrestling a damn muskrat. I just had to neutralize him, man.”
“I wasn’t going out. I was like ‘hey Herb [Dean, the referee], don’t you stop this damn fight. Here’s my thumb’s up.’ He goes, ‘I got you, dog.’ It was a tough first round.”
For Johnson, the flyweight champion now moves within one defence of Anderson Silva’s record 10 successive championship defences, while Elliott earned a number of plaudits for his performance.
“I’m just a guy that loves to fight, and I’m just ready to get back to that next one. I know I’m in there with anybody. I can compete,” said Elliott.
“Even this fight, I knew I was down when time ran out. If it’s a fight to the death, I beat everybody. I’m a little behind when the time runs out. That’s all.”
Here’s a full round-up of the results from the night:
Demetrious Johnson def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-45)
Joseph Benavidez def. Henry Cejudo via split decision (27-29, 30-26, 29-27)
Jorge Masvidal def. Jake Ellenberger via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:05
Jared Cannonier def. Ion Cutelaba via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sara McMann def. Alexis Davis via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 2:52
Brandon Moreno def. Ryan Benoit via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Ryan Hall def. Gray Maynard via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Rob Font def. Matt Schnell via TKO (knee, punches) – Round 1, 3:47
“Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim def. Brendan O’Reilly via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jamie Moyle def. Kailin Curran via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Anthony Smith def. Elvis Mutapcic via TKO (elbow, punches) – Round 2, 3:27
Devin Clark def. Josh Stansbury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
