UFC Live – Cruz vs. Johnson

[rayallen0]

Tonight is a big night for the UFC, as they’re putting on a free title fight on the Versus network.  Dominick Cruz will defend his Bantamweight Title against Demetrious Johnson.  Cruz has looked pretty spectacular during his time as the WEC and UFC Bantamweight Champion, but we’ll have to see if Johnson can use his wrestling to control Cruz is this one.

There are some other interesting fights tonight as all three other main card contests feature ranked fighters.  Stefan Struve will take on Pat Barry in a fight where Struve holds a 12 inch height advantage.  Anthony Johnson and Charlie Brenneman look to follow up on big wins in an interesting welterweight contest while there should be fireworks in the contest between Mac Danzig and Matt Wiman.

UFC Live airs tonight on Versus at 9:00 PM EST/8:00 PM CST with all preliminary fights being shown on Facebook beginning at 5:40 PM EST/4:40 PM CST.

Bantamweight Title: (c) Dominick Cruz (17-1) vs. Demetrious Johnson (9-1)


Heavyweight: Stefan Struve (21-5) vs. Pat Barry (6-3)


Welterweight: Anthony Johnson (9-3) vs. Charlie Brenneman (13-2)


Lightweight: Mac Danzig (20-8-1) vs. Matt Wiman (13-6)


Lightweight: Paul Sass (11-0) vs. Michael Johnson (9-5)


Bantamweight: Mike Easton (10-1) vs. Jeff Hougland (10-4)


Lightweight: Yves Edwards (40-17-1) vs. Rafaello Oliveira (14-4)


Lightweight: T.J. Grant (16-5) vs. Shane Roller (10-4)


Welterweight: Josh Neer (31-10-1) vs. Keith Wisniewski (28-12-1)


Bantamweight: Walel Watson (8-2) vs. Joseph Sandoval (6-0)

[rayallen0]

Bantamweight Title: (c) Dominick Cruz d. Demetrious Johnson (Unanimous Decision

Cruz and Johnson put on a show last night, both men utilizing great speed to entertain us all for 25 minutes.  In the end, Cruz’s striking and grappling won out as “Mighty Mouse” was just outmatched.  Cruz landed some nice suplexes and almost finished the fight with some submissions, notably a rear naked choke in the third round.  Cruz appeared to tire a bit, but he still won what was a closely contested bout.

Dominick Cruz is the best fighter in the world.  You can’t change my mind, he’s proven this during his stellar run at bantamweight.  Cruz has been completely dominant with fighters currently ranked 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 at bantamweight.  He also has a win over 2nd ranked flyweight Ian McCall.  Cruz has very little left to prove, though Brad Picket should probably get a shot.  I figure that the winner of Bowles/Faber will take on Cruz, then Pickett should earn a shot, and then…who knows?  Maybe Cruz vs. Aldo?

For Demetrious Johnson, his next fight should realistically be at flyweight.  Dana White confirmed that flyweights should be competing in the UFC at the end of this year or beginning of 2012, so Johnson could see his next bout at 125 pounds.  Johnson is one of the more exciting fighters in MMA, pushing a constant pace and hanging in there with some of the best in the world.  I think he could really be a fixture at 135 pounds, but should he choose to drop down, he can be a force at flyweight.

Heavyweight: Stefan Struve d. Pat Barry (Submission – Round 2, 3:22)

Ugh, what a fucking awful fight.  The first round was supremely boring, as we saw a seven foot tall fighter who had no clue how to use his reach as Barry stood by waiting for Struve to use his reach.  The second round saw Struve gain control and score the win with a triangle choke, surviving a big slam attempt from Pat Barry.

This was a solid win for Struve, who needed a victory to get back on track.  Of course, Pat Barry was the perfect opponent as he somehow has no idea how to fight despite being very talented.  It’s as if Barry turns off his brain at fight time and just kinda hangs out.  I’m a Pat Barry fan, but he really pisses me off.  Goofing around and being everybody’s friend is fine until you end up getting cut for not being very good.  Bellator has a bit of a void at heavyweight, so maybe Barry can ply his trade there!

Welterweight: Anthony Johnson d. Charlie Brenneman (KO – Round 1, 2:49)

Though the stoppage seemed a little early, it was just a matter of time before Brenneman was murdered by Rumble.  Anthony Johnson was landing pretty much everything and Brenneman had no answer but to pray.  By the time Johnson landed a big head kick, Mario Yamasaki was quick to stop the fight despite Brenneman being totally conscious.

Frankly, I think continuing the fight would have delayed the inevitable.  Brenneman wouldn’t have been able to finish Johnson and he couldn’t have lasted 15 minutes in that fight.  Rumble is looking pretty scary and should see a step up in competition at welterweight.

Lightweight: Matt Wiman d. Mac Danzig (Unanimous Decision)

This was a really great battle between Wiman and Danzig that could have gone either way, but somehow, all three judges scored the contest for Wiman.  Wiman did look very good, but I’m surprised that Danzig didn’t win on at least one scorecard.  Wiman was very active with submission attempts, while both men traded some heavy strikes in an exciting fight.  I’m not disappointed in the win for Wiman, whose looked very good at 155 pounds as of late.

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

well....surprisingly Johnson seemed to be the first person to get through Cruz's footwork. Unfortunately Cruz dominated him with the wrestling. He's shown his ability to adapt to any situation, he's beaten the best his division has to offer. I see him staying as a champ for a while. Now if only he could finish...