UFC on FOX 24 emanated from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO tonight (Saturday, April 15, 2017). The stacked card was headlined by Demetrious Johnson’s record-tying tenth straight successful title defense against Wilson Reis.
Johnson put on a masterclass performance. After having a surprisingly hard time with Tim Elliott, who won the 24th season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ to earn himself a title shot, “Mighty Mouse” was in control from start to finish against Reis. Too fast, too elusive, and too technical for the Brazilian challenger, Johnson worked his prey over, gradually wearing him down before finishing him with a third-round armbar. Johnson banked one of the $50,000 Performance of the Night bonuses and vowed to break the title defense record his next time out.
The other $50,000 Performance of the Night check went to another main card fighter. Robert Whittaker picked up the most impressive victory of his career, by far, by TKO-ing Jacare Souza in the second round of their featured middleweight bout. The Brazilian grappling phenom failed to keep Whittaker down for any length of time and was forced to deal with the Kiwi’s dangerous striking. It did not go well. A head kick and follow-up ground and pound put an end to Jacare’s title aspirations and announced Whittaker as perhaps the most exciting contender at 185 pounds.
Fight of the Night was wrapped up as soon as Tim Elliott and Louis Smolka started their scramble-fest for the ages. Elliott hit takedown after takedown, only for the Hawaiian to continually threaten with submissions and sweeps. Both flyweights found themselves in dire straits on the mat on multiple occasions in a thrilling back-and-forth affair. In the end, Elliott’s deluge of takedowns and advances won him a unanimous decision, but both men walked away $50,000 richer.
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