Dominick Cruz retained his bantamweight title but a couple of fighters with New Jersey ties, Charlie Brenneman and Rafaello Oliveira, were stopped Saturday at the Verizon Center in Washington at UFC Live on Versus 6.
Cruz scored a unanimous decision victory over Demetrious Johnson, retaining his title for the fourth straight time. He won the belt in the WEC and defended it twice in that promotion before it was folded into the UFC, where he has held on to it twice.
Johnson actually won a round one the card of one of the judges, New Jersey-based Cardo Urso. Otherwise, Cruz had scores of 50-45 in the five-round fight. He continually wrestled down the speedy Johnson, who is perhaps the only fighter who can match Cruz's stunning quickness.
“I’m really excited about this win," Cruz said. "This one is definitely up there as far as how important it is. The way DJ fought me was way different than how anyone else has up to this point. He’s a great grappler and will be a force in this division or wherever he ends up. His speed seemed about equal with everyone else that I’ve fought, but he definitely uses his more effectively. But tonight I proved why I’m the best in the world in my weight class. I’m willing to take on anyone the UFC puts in front of me and continue to show why I am the best.”
Cruz improved to 19-1, and has already avenged that loss. Johnson fell to 9-2 as his four-fight winning streak ended.
The co-main event might have been a sideshow, save for the actual talent of the heavyweight fighters involved. The 6'11" Stefan Struve submitted Pat Barry, who is listed as a full foot shorter but might be even more, with a triangle choke at 3:22 of the second round.
The UFC said the height discrepancy was the largest ever in the history of the promotion.
Struve kept Barry at bay with his long reach and finally got the fight to the ground for a relatively quick ending. As he locked up Barry, the shorter fighter managed to lift Struve high in the air for a powerful slam, but the defensive tactic only made the choke tighter. Struve received a $65,000 bonus for submission of the night.
The night did not go well for Brenneman or Oliveira, who are products of Mike Constantino's AMA Fight Club in Whippany.
Brenneman tried to wrestle hulking welterweight Anthony Johnson, but never got past his first takedown attempt. Johnson clipped Brenneman with a kick, then blasted the stunned East Hanover resident with a direct kick to the face, knocking Brenneman on his back and eliciting the stoppage of the fight from referee Mario Yamasaki.
Brenneman was not happy with the stoppage, since he fell into a ready defensive position on his back, something common in MMA but possibly alarming to new fans of the sport.
“He had my number tonight," said Brenneman, who dropped to 14-3 overall and 3-2 in the UFC. "I didn’t execute my gameplan and that guy is a beast in the Octagon. I would have kept going if the ref allowed it, but at that point it wasn’t up to me.”
Johnson (9-3) appears to have put weight-cutting and injury issues behind him as he moves toward the top echelon of the division. He added an extra $65,000 to his paycheck by earning knockout of the night honors.
“He was the first guy that made me nervous before a fight," Johnson said. "His wrestling was the complete package, so I was preparing for it non-stop leading up to the fight. I prepared for everything coming into this fight and I wanted the win. I hit him hard quite a few times in a row and he didn’t look like he was all there. I landed that head kick and put him on the canvas. He looked done to me, but if that kick hadn’t of done it, the punches that would have come afterwards would have.”
That's the way it went for Oliveira, who was pounded out in the second round by veteran Yves Edwards in their lightweight fight.
Oliveira (14-5, 1-4 UFC) was very competive and perhaps winning the fight leading to the final sequence, when Edwards rocked him with a punch, then took him to the ground and continued to strike the right side of the Brazilian's head before it was waved off at 2:44.
"It was a great fight for the fans tonight," Oliveira said. "It was definitely a close first round and the second round was great for me. I felt better and faster than him the whole fight. But he caught me and I didn't know what happened and was just trying to survive. He's a great fighter and fought the way he needed to tonight. The referee stoppage was good tonight, it didn't need to go on any longer."
Oliveira trains for the most part under Eric Turner at Knoxville Mixed Martial Arts, near his Tennessee home, but frequently comes to train at AMA and is managed by Constantino.
The fight of the night went to Matt Wiman and Mac Danzig, who were rematching after Wiman won with a botched referee stoppage in June 2010 at UFC 115. Wiman won again on Saturday, this time by unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three judges' cards. Each earned an extra $65,000.
On the rest of the preliminary card, Paul Sass submitted Michael Johnson with a heel hook in the first round, Mike Easton won by TKO late in the second round against Byron Bloodworth, T.J. Grant scored an arm-bar submission over Shane Roller, Josh Neer cut up Keith Wisniewski to earn a doctor stoppage after two rounds, and Walel Watson TKOd Joseph Sandoval in 77 seconds.
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