Demetrious Johnson did it. He broke the UFC’s long-held record for consecutive title defenses and did so in impressive fashion at UFC 216 in Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Facing an overmatched Ray Borg, Mighty Mouse posted arguably the most dominant performance of his career before capping the fight with one of the most amazing finishes in MMA history, submitting Borg at 3:15 of Round 5.
Things started off fairly well for the challenger. Borg looked to control the pace in the early goings of the first frame, pressing forward and chasing Johnson. While he flashed his explosiveness and powerful punches, Johnson neutralized his offense with superior footwork and takedown defense, then took the round with his ground work and lightning-quick scrambles.
The challenger adjusted to this in the second, exploding forward and forcing the action to the cage. He had his moments, taking Johnson down and actually getting back control at one point. Still, the champ showed calm under pressure, defended and likely stole the round with a late takedown.
That, however, was the end of the competitive portion of the fight.
Johnson utterly dominated the third round, taking Borg down and experiencing no difficulty maintaining dominant positions. Borg found an early takedown in the fourth but wasn’t even able to settle into guard, as Johnson slipped away, got back to his feet and proceeded to out-strike and out-grapple his opponent at every turn.
By the fifth, Borg had no answer to anything that Mighty Mouse was doing. He was playing chess to Borg’s checkers and eventually decided to post one of the greatest submissions in UFC history, throwing Borg backward, catching his wrist midair and grabbing hold of an armbar to end the fight.
It’s a phenomenal highlight and another chapter in his storied reign. The submission over Borg is Johnson’s 11th title defense, breaking the record set by Anderson Silva in 2012.
This victory, naturally, restarts the discussion about where Johnson ranks among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and gives him an on-paper edge over other greats like Silva and Georges St-Pierre.
Naturally, no reign can last forever, and Johnson has a slew of fearsome challengers coming down the pipeline in old rivals Henry Cejudo and Joseph Benavidez, as well as new faces like Sergio Pettis and Jussier da Silva. Make no mistake, though. This was a special performance by a special fighter, and it’s one that will go down in the record books.
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