(Johnson vs. Dodson highlights, via UFC on FOX.)
At this point, it seems that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is forever destined to be one of the most dominant, yet simultaneously unbankable fighters in the history of the sport. Last Saturday was no exception, as the man they call “Mighty Mouse” turned in one of his best performances to date against rival John Dodson while headlining the lowest live gate for a UFC pay-per-view in 11 years. No respect, no respect, I tells ya.
Either the UFC has absolutely no idea how to market him, or casual fans are simply refusing to warm up to “little flyweights” (Ed note: My God, maybe Michael Bisping was right). Regardless, the UFC might want to start relegating Johnson to the FOX/FS1 cards, or at the very minimum, placing him in the co-main spot on a pay-per-views, because something just isn’t clicking with the UFC’s “f*cking idiot” fanbase.
Of course, Johnson wasn’t given much support in the form of a noteworthy undercard, which, save for a few noteworthy moments, didn’t really do much to entice those seated at the MGM Grand.
Highlights after the jump.
Three round heavyweight fights, amiright Nation? Seeing one that entertains from the opening bell to the judges’ decision is kind of like seeing a double rainbow, on Mars, at night, and UFC 191′s co-main event was no exception. Both Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir were riding a pair of emphatic first round knockouts heading into their UFC 191 clash, leading both fans and pundits alike to all but slap a #1 contender label on the bout. As it turns out, that “first round” qualifier might have been the key to both men’s feelgood comeback stories.
To say the fight underwhelmed would be an understatement, so I’ll just leave it to the UFC studio analysts to explain. Arlovski did manage to come out with the decision win, however, improving his UFC win streak to four in a row.
While Arlovski vs. Mir might not have lived up to expectations, Anthony Johnson vs. Jimi Manuwa sure as hell did. “Rumble” started off strong early, landing some heavy leg kicks and surprisingly taking Manuwa down on a couple occasions, then flattened the Brit like he had been doing yoga in the weight room early in the second. Say what you want about Johnson, but he is possibly the hardest hitting fighter in the entire UFC and a goddamn nightmare matchup for anyone in the light heavyweight division.
Elsewhere on the main card, Paige VanZant once again proved that a limitless gas tank and endless aggression often lead to victory. VanZant was all over opponent Alex Chambers from the opening bell until the effortless armbar finish she secured in the third round. While her striking still has a way to go if she is ever to stand a chance against Joanna Champion, there’s no denying that VanZant is a prospect to watch in the strawweight division.
Of course, the UFC has neglected to upload any highlights from UFC 191′s most entertaining fight: Francisco Rivera vs. John Lineker, but I believe this gif best sums up how we all reacted to what was 2 minutes of absolute, unbridled insanity.
The full results for UFC 191 are below.
Main card
Demetrious Johnson def. John Dodson via unanimous decision
Andrei Arlovski def. Frank Mir via unanimous decision
Anthony Johnson def. Jimi Manuwa via second-round KO
Corey Anderson def. Jan Blachowicz by unanimous decision
Paige VanZant def. Alex Chambers via submission (armbar)
Undercard
Ross Pearson def. Paul Felder via split decision
John Lineker def. Francisco Rivera via submission (guillotine)
Raquel Pennington def. Jessica Andrade via submission (rear-naked choke)
Tiago Trator def. Clay Collard via split decision
Joe Riggs def. Ron Stallings via DQ (illegal upkick)
Joaquim Silva def. Nazareno Malegarie via split decision
The post UFC 191 Highlights/Results: Mighty Mouse Dominates, Arlovski and Mir Underwhelm + More appeared first on Cagepotato.