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UFC 216 Bonuses: Johnson Banks Extra $50,000 For Submission Of The Year

UFC 216 emanated tonight (Saturday, October 7, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it delivered several pieces of history and sensational fights. In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson broke Anderson Silva’s title defense record, posting his eleventh consecutive victory as flyweight king. And he did it in jaw-dropping fashion. After dominating the […]

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UFC 216 emanated tonight (Saturday, October 7, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and it delivered several pieces of history and sensational fights.

In the co-main event, Demetrious Johnson broke Anderson Silva’s title defense record, posting his eleventh consecutive victory as flyweight king. And he did it in jaw-dropping fashion.

After dominating the fight from the beginning and well ahead on the scorecards in the fifth, Johnson made his move to finish an exhausted and dispirited Borg. After yet another takedown, the challenger worked his way back to his feet but with Johnson clinging to a rear waistlock. Johnson then hit a belly-to-back suplex from which he transitioned to an armbar. In the air.

Borg hadn’t even hit the mat when he found himself hopelessly ensnared in the fight-ending submission. He fought valiantly to escape but was forced to ask out of the fight with only a minute left on the clock. Johnson took home one of the Performance of the Night bonus checks for his efforts.

The other Performance of the Night went to a former challenger of Johnson’s. John Moraga upset the apple cart of the highly-touted Magomed Bibulatov with a crushing first-round knockout. An overhand right stunned the Chechen and opened the door for the finish. After a missed head kick, a missile of a left hook detonated on Bibulatov’s chin. The upstart went stiff immediately, crashing to his back in a heap on the canvas. Moraga banked $50,000 for his efforts, putting a recent three-fight losing streak farther in the rear-view.

The Fight of the Night was a no-brainer. Bobby Green and Lando Vannata put on a war for the ages in the prelims in which both guys were nearly finished and Vannata’s face became a bloody mask.

After dropping and nearly finishing Green with a volley of right hands in round one, Vannata landed an illegal knee to Green’s face as “King” tried to regain his feet. The blow resulted in a point deduction and gave Green a much-needed moment to clear his head. The rest of the bout was nip-and-tuck, with both men landing clean punches upstairs and kicks to the legs and body. Despite his cut and bleeding face, Vannata seemed to be landing the cleaner blows. That changed in the waning moments of the fight

That changed in the waning moments of the fight, when Green rocked Vannata badly as the two threw leather to the finish. “Groovy” Lando was able to stagger to the finish line. That sequence wasn’t enough for Green to steal the fight, but it prevented Vannata from getting the win. The fight ended in a split draw. But both men took home matching $50,000 bonus checks for their efforts.

Keep it locked to LowKick MMA for all your post-fight news and notes for UFC 216.

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Twitter Reacts To Submission-Packed UFC 216

UFC 216 went down tonight (Saturday, October 7, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night was headlined by a championship doubleheader as Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee vied for the interim lightweight strap and Demetrious Johnson sought to make history with his record eleventh-straight title defense against Ray Borg. Both fights […]

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UFC 216 went down tonight (Saturday, October 7, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night was headlined by a championship doubleheader as Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee vied for the interim lightweight strap and Demetrious Johnson sought to make history with his record eleventh-straight title defense against Ray Borg. Both fights provided scintillating finishes.

Ferguson dropped the first round as he struggled to find his rhythm. Lee had no such trouble, tagging “El Cucuy”, taking him down, and landing solid shots on the mat. Ferguson seemed to start taking back the momentum in round two from a tiring Lee, landing better shots on the feet and staving off Lee’s grappling advances.

In the third, Lee was once again able to take Ferguson down but quickly found himself in trouble. Ferguson slapped on an armbar that looked extremely tight, but Lee stepped over and escaped. But Ferguson snared him in a triangle a few moments later, and there would be no escape for Lee this time, who nearly went out before being rescued by the referee. The win marked Ferguson’s tenth straight at lightweight, extending his own division-best streak.

Johnson made history in the co-main event, and he did it with style points. His fight with the 24-year-old Borg became increasingly more one-sided as it deepened. Borg is a phenomenal athlete and scrambler, but that also happens to be where DJ is perhaps the best ever. Johnson reversed takedown after takedown from the challenger and applied unceasing pressure from top position. Whenever Borg managed to get back to his feet, Johnson would drag him back down and resume his assault.

In the fifth, well ahead on the scorecards with multiple 10-8 rounds possibly already banked, Johnson finally went for the kill. He hit a belly-to-back suplex and transitioned to an armbar while Borg was still in the air. He latched onto the arm, stepped across Borg’s face, and extended the arm, eliciting the tap after a brief struggle. It was one of the most impressive finishes in MMA history and cemented DJ as one of the best ever.

See how Twitter reacted to these wild finishes below:

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Tony Ferguson Calls Out Conor McGregor With Expletive-Filled Tirade

It wasn’t without a ton of adversity, but Tony Ferguson finally won the interim UFC lightweight championship by submitting rising young contender Kevin Lee with a third-round triangle choke in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the much bigger Lee was repeatedly […]

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It wasn’t without a ton of adversity, but Tony Ferguson finally won the interim UFC lightweight championship by submitting rising young contender Kevin Lee with a third-round triangle choke in the main event of tonight’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After the much bigger Lee was repeatedly able to use his smothering wrestling to ground Ferguson in the early rounds, ‘The Motown Phenom’ began to tire just a little after a brutal and draining weight cut, and that gave ‘El Cucuy’ a window of opportunity to capitalize with his ultra-dangerous bottom game on the mat.

The definitive win put Ferguson’s win streak at an unprecedented 10 straight, and he understandably called out UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in his post-fight interview with commentator Joe Rogan:

Ferguson was expectedly unhappy with McGregor’s inactivity as champion after he took the entire year off from MMA to fight Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring. So he voiced his opinion on the subject with a blunt and to-the-point callout:

“Where you at, McNuggets, you fuckin’ piece of shit? I’m gonna kick your ass. You better fuckin’ come and defend that belt. Defend or vacate, motherfucker!”

Ferguson is certainly doing his part to get his massive fight with McGregor.

Many hardcore fans believe McGregor should finally defend a UFC belt, which he has not done since winning the featherweight title from Jose Aldo in December 2015 and the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 last November.

The bout with Ferguson is a clear booking, but in today’s ‘money fight’-focused UFC landscape, McGregor’s oft-discussed trilogy bout with Nate Diaz could easily surpass Ferguson chance to unify the titles.

Which fight do you think should take place first?

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Tony Ferguson Chokes Kevin Lee To Become Interim Lightweight Champion

It wasn’t easy, but Tony Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee to captured UFC gold for the first time in his career. The stage was set for the main event of UFC 216. Ferguson and Lee did battle inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two competed for the interim UFC lightweight title. Lee connected […]

The post Tony Ferguson Chokes Kevin Lee To Become Interim Lightweight Champion appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It wasn’t easy, but Tony Ferguson submitted Kevin Lee to captured UFC gold for the first time in his career.

The stage was set for the main event of UFC 216. Ferguson and Lee did battle inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two competed for the interim UFC lightweight title.

Lee connected with a high kick early. A right hand landed for Lee. Ferguson kicked the leg of his opponent, which had Lee off balanced. A jab was there for Ferguson. Lee landed a punch and Ferguson felt he was poked on his way down. Ferguson dropped his opponent momentarily.

They traded kicks. The Lee got a takedown, but they engaged in a scramble. Ferguson went for a triangle choke. He held onto the arm of his opponent. A cut formed above the right eye of Ferguson. Lee wound up in full guard. He then moved to the north-south position.

Lee decided to move to side control and transitioned to full mount. He dropped some hard elbows. Ferguson was able to hold on until the horn sounded. Lee threw a strike well after the horn and referee Herb Dean gave him a stern warning.

Ferguson landed a right hand over the top early in the second stanza. A jab found the mark for Ferguson. Lee got popped with another jab. Ferguson looked to find his range and he thwarted a takedown attempt. A body kick was there for Lee. Another clean jab connected for Ferguson.

Ferguson keep finding a home for his jab. Lee walked right into an elbow. A right hand connected for Lee. Blood trickled from the nose of Lee. He shot in for a takedown, but Ferguson shoved him off. This was a much better round for “El Cucuy.”

Lee blocked a head kick early in round three. Lee lifted his opponent up and dumped him down. Ferguson avoided damage and got back to his feet quickly. He missed an uppercut, but avoided the grappling. Ferguson ducked a high kick.

Another takedown was there for Lee. Ferguson locked in an armbar, but Lee stepped over to avoid damage. Ferguson dropped down elbows from full guard. He locked in a triangle and Lee was forced to submit.

Final Result: Tony Ferguson def. Kevin Lee via submission (triangle choke) – R3, 4:02

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Demetrious Johnson Finishes Ray Borg, Breaks Anderson Silva’s Record

Demetrious Johnson is in the history books with his highlight reel submission win over Ray Borg. A chance at history was on the line for Johnson. He defended his flyweight title against Ray Borg in the co-main event of UFC 216 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A win for Johnson meant breaking […]

The post Demetrious Johnson Finishes Ray Borg, Breaks Anderson Silva’s Record appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Demetrious Johnson is in the history books with his highlight reel submission win over Ray Borg.

A chance at history was on the line for Johnson. He defended his flyweight title against Ray Borg in the co-main event of UFC 216 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. A win for Johnson meant breaking Anderson Silva’s record for most successful consecutive title defense.

Johnson got off four leg kicks right away. Borg checked the fifth attempt. “Mighty Mouse” switched it up and went high with a kick. A body kick was there for the champion. He did it again and Borg was on the mat. Borg did a spin and got back to his feet,

Johnson defended a takedown. Borg held onto the leg, but Johnson scrambled and landed some punches. He held the challenger down and moved to half guard. Johnson went for an americana and a kimura. The champion moved to side control. Borg went to scramble, but Johnson stuck to him until the end of the round.

At the start of the second stanza, Johnson right away went to the leg kicks. Borg moved forward and pressed the champion against the cage. Johnson reversed the position. Borg went for a guillotine, but had nothing. He changed levels and scored a takedown.

Borg hopped on Johnson’s back, but “Mighty Mouse” dumped him down and earned top control. Johnson moved to a position close to a crucifix and rained down punches. He landed a series of knees to the body. He took the challenger down and was in side control. Shoulder strikes landed for Johnson as the round ended.

Round three began and the two threw kicks simultaneously. Borg grabbed a leg, but once again was thwarted. Once again, Johnson found his way to side control. He dropped some elbows and shoulder strikes. Borg’s bottom position improved, but only briefly.

Borg went to scramble, but was mounted. He gave up his back and Johnson looked to soften his opponent up. Borg scrambled again, but Johnson stuck to him until the horn sounded.

Early in the fourth frame, Borg slammed Johnson down to the mat. “Mighty Mouse” quickly scrambled and earned top control. He rained down strikes on the challenger. A knee to the body found the mark for Johnson. He threw a head kick while grabbing a hold of Borg’s back. Round four looked just as smooth for the champion as the three previous stanzas.

Borg was dumped down quickly in the final round. Johnson connected with a few knees to the body. Borg got up and tried making something happen. He was taken down again. “Mighty Mouse” achieved full mount. Johnson had an insane slam into an arm bar to force the submission. He breaks Silva’s record in emphatic fashion.

Final Result: Demetrious Johnson def. Ray Borg via submission (arm bar) – R5, 3:15

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Highlights: Bloody War Ends In Draw At UFC 216

Much of the attention for tonight’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada is centered on the interim lightweight title bout in the main event, but two other fighters put from the weight class put on an insane back-and-forth on the preliminary card. Bobby Green and Lando Vannata let […]

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Much of the attention for tonight’s (Sat., October 7, 2017) UFC 216 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada is centered on the interim lightweight title bout in the main event, but two other fighters put from the weight class put on an insane back-and-forth on the preliminary card.

Bobby Green and Lando Vannata let it all hang out in a bloody war that will absolutely get the excitement flowing for the UFC 216 main card. And it all began in rather unorthodox style before becoming one of the closest and hard-fought bouts of 2017.

Vannata’s flashy striking power was apparent early as he dropped Green and followed to the ground with several follow-up punches. But when Green tried to get back to his feet, Vannata rushed in early with an illegal knee that caused referee Herb Dean to call for a halt in the action. Check it out right here:


After a point was taken from the Jackson-Wink MMA-trained ‘Groovy,’ Green seemed to be fully recovered, and he found a second wind to throw a ton of accurate shots and bloody Vannata, maintaining a grueling pace as he popped up from each and every takedown.

Vannata landed several huge shots of his own, rocking Green towards the end of the second and nearly finishing him again. It became an all-out war in the third, with Vannata a bloody mess as he ate a damaging combination from the resilient Green. Watch some of the entertaining exchanges right here:


Finally, the ultra-close and ultra-violent fight came to a close with no winner as it was declared a 29-27 score for each fighter on one judge’s card apiece and a 28-28 draw with a point deduction on the final judge’s card:

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