After locking up an armbar on John Moraga only seconds before the final minute of the fifth round in the main event of UFC on FOX 8 on Saturday night, Demetrius Johnson earned the latest stoppage victory in UFC history.
“Mighty Mouse” had been hunting a kimura—which he had done several times prior to his fifth-round attempt—before brilliantly transitioning to the armbar.
Both of Moraga’s hands were trapped, so Herb Dean called a halt to the action at the 3:43 mark of the final round, before any severe damage could be caused to the challenger’s arm.
The flyweight champion set up his submission attempts with his takedowns, going a staggering 10-for-10 on takedown attempts during the fight. He searched for arm attacks throughout the fight and also nearly locked up a guillotine choke at the end of the opening round.
By setting the record for latest stoppage in UFC history, Johnson joins the ranks of the Anderson Silva submission victory at UFC 117 (3:10), the Ricco Rodriguez submission victory at UFC 39 (3:04) and the BJ Penn TKO victory at UFC 107 (2:37). These are the only four fighters to earn a stoppage victory in the fifth round.
“Mighty Mouse” went to the judges in his last seven fights before submitting Moraga last night at Key Arena in Seattle. His last submission victory happened almost three years ago in November 2010 at WEC 52.
So, in orchestrating perhaps the biggest surprise of the night, Johnson impressed the bosses and pocketed an extra $50,000 dollars for “Submission of the Night” honors.
The win over Moraga marks Johnson’s second successful flyweight-title defense. In 11 fights in the UFC and WEC combined, he has only two stoppage victories.
Despite the lack of finishes, the flyweight champion can hang a feather in his cap for being the first fighter to ever finish or submit Moraga.
Michael Stets is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report.
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