The UFC on Fox hosted a headliner on Saturday between flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson and top contender John Moraga. When it was all said and done, the champion retained his title with a fifth-round submission.
When you break down the numbers via FightMetric, you will see exactly how dominant Johnson was in keeping his 125-pound title. In watching the bout, you know Johnson dominated the fight, but the numbers make things even more impressive.
To start with, Johnson outstruck Moraga 67-32. Sure, most of it was on the ground, but that is a telling tale in itself. Johnson had double the strikes of his challenger and did more damage via ground-and-pound. Mighty Mouse may not have the most impressive power, but 67 strikes landed is going to add up eventually.
The biggest tale you are going to see is the ground game in general. Johnson thoroughly dominated the fight using his strength, quickness and wrestling.
While Moraga did land one takedown (which obviously didn’t do much for him), Johnson destroyed him in the wrestling department, landing 12 takedowns of his own. Having gone almost the full five rounds, that would mean that Johnson earned almost two-and-a-half takedowns per round. So, even if Moraga was getting back to his feet, Johnson was there to plant him on his back again.
Furthermore, Johnson did not just sit in Moraga‘s guard and play it safe. While on the ground, Johnson had 13 passes, showing his commitment to improve position and look for the finish. Of course that’s what happened, securing a fight-ending armbar.
Finally, in looking at the aforementioned submission numbers, Johnson attempted three holds, with his final attempt being what ultimately had finished the fight. The armbar he used on Moraga was beautiful and showed the UFC fans that he could finish fights as opposed to always going to the judges.
The numbers don’t lie; Johnson was absolutely in charge of this entire fight.
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