Tonight’s (Saturday, January 30, 2015) UFC on FOX 18 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, delivered a hard-hitting mix of solid fights and finishes, and much of that recognition came at the top. Light heavyweight destroyer Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson made short work of the previously surging Ryan Bader in less than a minute-and-a-half,
Tonight’s (Saturday, January 30, 2015) UFC on FOX 18 from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, delivered a hard-hitting mix of solid fights and finishes, and much of that recognition came at the top.
Light heavyweight destroyer Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson made short work of the previously surging Ryan Bader in less than a minute-and-a-half, staving off an early takedown to demolish ‘Darth’ with some shockingly powerful knockout shots. Johnson not surprisingly took home the event’s first $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus for the impressive win.
In the co-main event, heavyweight Ben Rothwell got a historic victory by becoming the first man to ever make Josh Barnett tap out due to a submission hold when he submitted ‘The Warmaster’ with his patented gogo choke in the second round, earning the second ‘Performance of the Night’ in the process.
‘Fight of the Night’ went to the bantamweight scrap between Jersey hometown favorite Jimmie Rivera and veteran Iuri Alcantara, which Rivera edged by unanimous decision.
Check out video of Anthony Johnson’s devastating win over Ryan Bader in the main event of UFC on Fox 18.
Anthony Johnson put a stamp on a future title shot with a huge knockout win over Ryan Bader in the main event of UFC on Fox 18 tonight. It didn’t come in his usual manner though – instead of knocking him out on the feet, he was able to get to full mount and drop bombs on Bader until his lights went out. Check out the video.
Here’s Dallas Winston’s (brief) play-by-play of the fight.
R1: Bader opens with a single-leg attempt that Johnson easily defends before scurrying behind Bader for the back ride. Bader grapevines a leg and goes two-on-one wrist control, clinging to it as Johnson explodes forward into full mount. “Rumble” breaks the grip, postures up and detonates a menacing volley of right hands to the side of the head until Bader goes limp.
Anthony Johnson defeats Ryan Bader by TKO (punches) R1
Check out video of Anthony Johnson’s devastating win over Ryan Bader in the main event of UFC on Fox 18.
Anthony Johnson put a stamp on a future title shot with a huge knockout win over Ryan Bader in the main event of UFC on Fox 18 tonight. It didn’t come in his usual manner though – instead of knocking him out on the feet, he was able to get to full mount and drop bombs on Bader until his lights went out. Check out the video.
Here’s Dallas Winston’s (brief) play-by-play of the fight.
R1: Bader opens with a single-leg attempt that Johnson easily defends before scurrying behind Bader for the back ride. Bader grapevines a leg and goes two-on-one wrist control, clinging to it as Johnson explodes forward into full mount. “Rumble” breaks the grip, postures up and detonates a menacing volley of right hands to the side of the head until Bader goes limp.
Anthony Johnson defeats Ryan Bader by TKO (punches) R1
Check out video of Ben Rothwell’s surprising submission win over Josh Barnett at UFC on Fox 18.
Ben Rothwell did something that no man before him has ever done – he was able to submit Josh Barnett. Rothwell continued his unlikely title push with a gogo choke win over Barnett in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 18, and you can check out the video highlights here.
Here’s Dallas Winston’s play-by-play of that fateful second round:
R2: Rothwell fires with both hands while cautiously closing distance. Barnett defending well but he’s being cornered too easily and often by Rothwell. Barnett, with his back on the fence, forces a clinch to buy some space, then separates. Grazing left hand sweeps across the pocket for Barnett. Rothwell answers with a low kick, then a short uppercut.
Glancing right to the body from Barnett. Rothwell crams a left through his guard. They trade short shots at close range. Barnett jabs to the body and whiffs with a big overhand right. Quick left kick lands to the body for Barnett. Rothwell leans over and shuffles forward behind a wall of short, snapping rights. They clinch with Barnett pursuing a single, and Rothwell snaps the head down with a powerful front headlock, then amazingly rolls Barnett onto his back with a topside guillotine. Shockingly, the experienced submissionist taps out.
Ben Rothwell defeats Josh Barnett by submission (guillotine) R2
Check out video of Ben Rothwell’s surprising submission win over Josh Barnett at UFC on Fox 18.
Ben Rothwell did something that no man before him has ever done – he was able to submit Josh Barnett. Rothwell continued his unlikely title push with a gogo choke win over Barnett in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 18, and you can check out the video highlights here.
Here’s Dallas Winston’s play-by-play of that fateful second round:
R2: Rothwell fires with both hands while cautiously closing distance. Barnett defending well but he’s being cornered too easily and often by Rothwell. Barnett, with his back on the fence, forces a clinch to buy some space, then separates. Grazing left hand sweeps across the pocket for Barnett. Rothwell answers with a low kick, then a short uppercut.
Glancing right to the body from Barnett. Rothwell crams a left through his guard. They trade short shots at close range. Barnett jabs to the body and whiffs with a big overhand right. Quick left kick lands to the body for Barnett. Rothwell leans over and shuffles forward behind a wall of short, snapping rights. They clinch with Barnett pursuing a single, and Rothwell snaps the head down with a powerful front headlock, then amazingly rolls Barnett onto his back with a topside guillotine. Shockingly, the experienced submissionist taps out.
Ben Rothwell defeats Josh Barnett by submission (guillotine) R2
Tonight’s (Sat., January 30, 2015) UFC on FOX 18 is underway from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The main card features a potential light heavyweight title eliminator between Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and Ryan Bader, while top-ranked heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett will go face off in the co-main event. Join LowKickMMA.com for the
Tonight’s (Sat., January 30, 2015) UFC on FOX 18 is underway from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The main card features a potential light heavyweight title eliminator between Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson and Ryan Bader, while top-ranked heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett will go face off in the co-main event.
Join LowKickMMA.com for the event’s post-fight press conference starting at approximately 10:15 p.m. EST:
Once UFC on FOX 18: “Johnson vs. Bader” comes to a close later tonight (Sat., Jan. 30, 2016) check out the LIVE post-fight press conference video stream below from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., featuring company president Dana White and…
Once UFC on FOX 18: “Johnson vs. Bader” comes to a close later tonight (Sat., Jan. 30, 2016) check out the LIVE post-fight press conference video stream below from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., featuring company president Dana White and all the other important mixed martial arts (MMA) players.
It’s a can’t-miss wrap for the promotion’s first major event on primetime network television this year, which featured a pivotal 205-pound showdown between top-ranked Light Heavyweight contenders Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader (see final results here).
Immediately following the conclusion of UFC on FOX 18, a handful of notable fighters such as Johnson, Bader, Ben Rothwell and Josh Barnett, among others — will be on hand for the UFC on FOX 18 post-fight press conference, which is now embedded above for an approximate 10:45 p.m. ET start time.
Be sure to catch the post-fight reactions from all the major players, as well as up-to-the-minute results of all the UFC on FOX 18 post-fight bonuses, including “Fight of the Night” and the other “Performance of the Night” awards. The UFC on FOX 18 post-fight presser video replay will also be available above for those who tune in late or miss the live broadcast altogether.
For complete results from UFC on FOX 18: “Johnson vs. Bader,” including play-by-play updates, click here and here.
Tim B takes a look at a UFC on Fox card that started slow but ended with some emphatic finishes. Ryan Bader got dusted in the main event of UFC on Fox 18. When you make a mistake against Anthony Johnson, you might find yourself unconscious a…
Tim B takes a look at a UFC on Fox card that started slow but ended with some emphatic finishes.
Ryan Bader got dusted in the main event of UFC on Fox 18. When you make a mistake against Anthony Johnson, you might find yourself unconscious and that’s exactly what happened. Coming out to grapple with him is fine – it’s the book on Rumble. But trying way too hard for that kimura cost him the fight. Johnson has terrifying power on the feet, so can you imagine how hard he hits when he has mount? When Bader wakes up, he might be able to tell you. He also might not remember, because those were devastating shots.
Onto the rest of the card!
I’m simply dumbstruck by the fact that Ben Rothwell submitted Josh Barnett. That shouldn’t have been possible. Anyone who suggested that seriously before the fight would have been laughed at and mocked. By me, and by everyone else. Yet that’s exactly what happened. No controversy, no issues – he just straight up submitted him. It’s baffling, ridiculous, and actually pretty cool. Mad props to Rothwell.
Jimmie Rivera vs. Iuri Alcantara was a decent fight – not super exciting, and probably not worthy of a main card spot, but not terrible. Rivera looks to be a top contender in the division, so giving him some shine makes sense. It was a good win for him.
Sage Northcutt lost. There’s a little bit to unpack with this. First off, I don’t like the “he’s 19” excuse – he’s in the UFC. It shouldn’t matter how old he is. With that being said, that arm triangle should not have had him in great danger, yet he tapped. That is not good. I’m not really sure how I feel about it yet, but I’m willing to bet the UFC will have his back and say he took the fight at welterweight, so it doesn’t really count. Either way, his lack of relatively basic submission defense is a little disconcerting.
Tarec Saffiedine put on a workmanlike performance and beat Jake Ellenberger by decision. Ellenberger landed the hardest shots in the fight, but seemed pretty gunshy overall and didn’t have nearly the output needed to beat a good kickboxer like Saffiedine. The fight itself was okay, but not amazing.
Diego Ferreira showed that he’s still a guy that people should be worried about in the lightweight division. Losing to Dustin Poirier and Beneil Dariush just makes him similar to 95% of the division – those are tough guys. He definitely has the skills to someday be a contender in the division, and his win over Olivier Aubin-Mercier proved that.
Speaking of Aubin-Mercier, he had my favorite quote of the fight by far – “He was a tank and I was hitting him and he didn’t give a shit.”
Rafael Natal vs. Kevin Casey was everything I expected, and less. Natal had Casey hurt with a shot right at the end of the first round. So he comes straight out in the second and…knees Casey in the bad place so he gets an extended break to clear his head. Then when they finally get back to it, he…takes him down. I mean, he did end up winning and he does have a nice win streak going. I’m just not sure how. It certainly seems like Rafael Natal’s worst enemy is Rafael Natal a lot of the time.
Wilson Reis‘ grappling was the difference maker against Dustin Ortiz. Ortiz has shown that he’s a fun scrambler over his UFC career, but Reis was on another level and it definitely showed. I really like Ortiz and I hope this isn’t a major setback for him.
I can’t believe Joe Rogan called 31-year-old Reis a “prospect” though. He was a prospect when he fought Abel Cullum in EliteXC in 2008. That was TWENTY FIGHTS AGO for him. Good god, man.
Alexander Yakovlev offered up the only real highlight-reel footage from the entire prelims, knocking out George Sullivan with a beautiful straight right. He went in to finish him off and landed another punch, but it wasn’t necessary as Sullivan was already done. Pretty impressive from a guy not known for his hands.
Alex Caceres looked good in his return to 145, engaging in a fun striking match with Masio Fullen and getting the decision win. His fro was on point as well.
The UFC Fight Pass prelims were definitely lacking in action. Tony Martin had a tough first round against Felipe Oliveiri but rebounded in the second and took advantage of a Oliveiri mistake to get a submission finish in the third. Levan Makashvili and Damon Johnson engaged in a sloppy, foul-filled bout that was handled very strangely by the referee, leading to a draw. And Lookin For A Fight’s Randy Brown didn’t really live up to the hype, but got a decision win over Matt Dwyer.
