Anthony “Rumble” Johnson shocked the world…well at least all of Sweden. Early Sunday morning in Stockholm, Johnson stopped hometown favorite and the No. 1 contender in the light heavyweight division, Alexander Gustafsson, in the very first round.
Per Odds Shark, Gustafsson was a minus-242 favorite to win, but Rumble doesn’t care much about odds.
He put pressure on Gustafsson from the opening of the fight. Rumble shook off an accidental eye poke and decimated the Swede with a destructive right hand. Gustafsson tried to recover, but Johnson was relentless as he pounded his fallen opponent who simply couldn’t regain his wherewithal. Fox Sports: UFC highlighted Johnson’s win:
The MMA community and esteemed actors were impressed with Johnson’s performance:
After the fight, Johnson called out light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones and acknowledged the pound-for-pound king’s current drug issues in one sentence. Per the Fox broadcast, Johnson said: “Jon Jones…get well brother, but let’s get this thing on and let’s go for this championship.”
MMA fans will now await the announcement of the date when Rumble and Jones battle for the belt. Johnson’s return to the UFC after being cut three years ago is amazing.
He has blown through the likes of Phil Davis, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and now Gustafsson in less than a year. It would appear that Bones is next. Meanwhile, it would be a rough night for all the hometown favorites.
In the co-feature, Gegard Mousasi handed Dan Henderson his second straight loss, and his fifth defeat in his last six bouts. The 44-year-old legend got clipped high on the head with a counter right hand from Mousasi early in the first round.
Henderson stumbled to the mat, and Mousasi pounced. The referee jumped in to call a halt to the bout. It looked like the stoppage might have been just a bit premature, but Mousasi was definitely in position to land some dangerous shots. Fox Sports: UFC noted it only took “70 seconds” for Mousasi to take down Henderson:
Prior to the shot that stopped the bout, Mousasi landed a jab that appeared to cut Henderson over the eye. There was a brief intermission, but shortly after Henderson got dropped.
After the bout, Mousasi seemed almost apologetic for his win over the legend. Per MMAFighting.com, Mousasi showed concern in the post-fight interview:
For what it’s worth, UFC president Dana White stood behind the decision while taking the referees to task, and UFC vice president Dave Sholler didn’t like the stoppage, but he also believes Henderson was going to be stopped:
Here’s a look at the results for the entire card. Just below the table is a breakdown of every fight that took place before the co-featured bouts.
Seery Decisions Chris Beal
In previous bouts, we’ve seen Beal display some dynamic striking prowess. He cut to flyweight, and the thought might have been that he would be stronger and even quicker at 125. That didn’t prove to be the case against Seery.
On the strength of a strong third round and competitive first, Seery won a unanimous decision. The two judges who scored the fight 30-27 may need to have their eyes checked, but giving Seery the nod wasn’t a horrible decision.
Luke Thomas of MMAFighting.com agrees:
The loss was the first of Beal‘s pro MMA career and will likely serve as a learning experience moving forward. He’ll have to determine whether 125 is really the best weight for him. He may ultimately need another fight at the weight to make a final decision.
Pesta Dominates Erokhin
Early on, Konstantin Erokhin seemed hellbent on landing something big and painful on Viktor Pesta‘s chin. Erokhin did connect in the first five minutes, but it was only enough to get Pesta‘s attention. Pesta still secured two of the five takedowns he landed in the first round.
In the second round, Pesta imposed his will as a grappler further in the next round with another takedown and never ate another big shot. Rob Tatum of Combat Press noted each man’s depleted stamina and Pesta‘s desire early in the third round:
In the second and third rounds combined, Pesta out-landed Erokhin 43-9 en route to the easy win. Armbar Nation accurately assesses Peska’s formula for victory:
Bektic Outclasses Redmond
BHDragons.com noted Saturday’s win continued Mirsad Bektic’s winning record, taking it to 9-of-9:
Stepping up as a late replacement proved to be a painful endeavor for Paul Redmond. He showed heart in stepping in for Alan Omer, but when he weighed in four pounds over the limit on Friday, it was clear he wasn’t physically prepared.
Even if he had been better prepared, it’s doubtful he would have won.
Bektic threw Redmond around like a rag doll and spent 13:49 in top control on his opponent.
By the second round, Redmond was bleeding pretty badly. By the end of the one-sided bout, he looked like this (tweet from The Score 42):
This fight could have easily been scored 30-25 by all three judges. It was that lopsided. Brett Okamoto of ESPN tabs Bektic as one of the most feared man in the featherweight division:
Taisumov Vanquishes Christodoulou
From the opening horn, it seemed to be just a matter of time before Mairbek Taisumov took out Anthony Christodoulou. Taisuomov landed 29 significant strikes in the first round. Kicks to the lead leg were perhaps the most effective strike. Fox Sports UFC seemed to foreshadow Christodoulou‘s demise:
The overall body of work concluded with a big right hand that set up the vicious display of ground and pound in Denis Horvat’s tweet above.
After the systematic and destructive finish, Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com acknowledged the contrast between Taisumov the fighter and the personality:
That could prove to be an effective combination when it comes to growing Taisumov’s popularity.
Krylov Chokes out Nedkov
This one didn’t take too long. Krylov landed a hard uppercut that put Nedkov in a bit of trouble. Instinct led Nedkov to go for the takedown, but that simply put him in position to be choked out.
Initially Krylov looked for the gator roll, but he quickly transitioned to a guillotine that led to the relatively quick tap out.
The 22-year-old Russian who goes by the nickname “Al Capone” has now strung two wins together after losing two of his first three fights in the UFC. He could be one of the prospects to keep an eye on throughout 2015. After the bout, Krylov was relieved to get the opportunity to finally put away some grub, per MMS
The 8-Second Assassin
Makwan Amirkhani only needed seven seconds to take out Andy Ogle in the former’s UFC debut. At the very beginning of the fight, Amirkhani charged across the Octagon and landed a flying knee to the body. Ogle crumpled against the cage and ate a big uppercut.
Amirkhani dropped approximately three shots to Ogle’s face before the referee stepped in to stop the bout. Per Michael Carroll of Fight Metric, Amirkhani‘s performance ranks as one of the fastest finishes in UFC history.
It was perplexing that some, most notably UFC announcer Joe Rogan, complained about the stoppage. Thankfully, not everyone shared these thoughts. UFC on Fox and White chimed in.
After the stoppage, Ogle tackled and grappled the referee. Whenever that happens, it’s pretty safe to say the fighter doesn’t have his faculties.
During the post-fight interview, Rogan questioned Amirkhani about the legitimacy of the stoppage. Things got a little awkward until Amirkhani‘s charm won the interview in slightly more time than it took him to finish Ogle.
Okamoto and Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter appreciated Amirkhani‘s ability to endear himself to the crowd and lighten the mood. Fear Factor reference anyone?
Aside from the questions about the stoppage, Amirkhani looked excellent in this small sample size of action. This was one heck of a UFC debut. His skills and personality will leave fans wanting to see more of the 26-year-old from Finland.
Robertson Keeps the KOs Coming
Another prelim, another first-round stoppage. Kenny Robertson countered a spinning back kick with a perfectly placed left hook that dropped Sultan Aliev like a ton of bricks.
Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting admires Robertson’s hard shot.
He landed a couple of punches on Aliev‘s chin, but those were just icing on the cake. Robertson has now won three fights in a row as he tries to make a mark in the welterweight division. Until he climbs the ladder, Robertson will have to keep his day job, as he references in this quote captured by MMA Fighting.
On Saturday night, he taught a quick lesson to Aliev.
Tumenov‘s Boxing Bests Musoke
In the first round, it seemed as if Musoke would kick Tumenov‘s midsection into the third row. Musoke repeatedly landed kicks to both of Tumenov’s sides.
The Swedish crowd was fully behind their countryman, but his success was short lived. Like a machine, Tumenov absorbed the shots and systematically wore Musoke down.
Tumenov countered the kicks with a persistent 1-2 punching combination that began to break up Musoke‘s face in the second round. As his confidence grew, Tumenov took over the bout and scored the unanimous-decision victory going away.
Thomas loved this bout as it was the best fight of the preliminary scraps.
Sicilia Puts Corassani‘s Lights Out
Sicilia continues to alternate wins in the UFC. The 28-year-old KO artist painted another masterpiece when he knocked Corassani cold with one devastating overhand right. This win served as an impressive comeback from his loss to Katsunori Kikuno in Sept. 2014.
Still, he has never won consecutive fights in his UFC career.
Botter talks about the tough night for Sweden.
Bader Eeks out Win over Davis
This fight had all the makings of a snooze fest and that’s exactly what it turned out to be. There was some decent action in the final round, but ultimately the two wrestlers spent most of the bout circling each other showing a ton of respect for their opponent.
Davis landed more strikes, but many of them were to the legs and that doesn’t always resonate with judges. Bader did the better work with his hands and that led to the win.
It might not have been all that exciting, but the win was historic for Bader, per the UFC’s Twitter account.
There were some odd finishes, but all in all, the event in Sweden had more exciting moments than perplexing ones.
All stats per UFC.com
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