Lord of the Flyweights: Johnson Defends Championship

Rampage and Bisping Also Win at UFC 186 in Montreal

SportsPatrick Mocella — Published April 26, 2015

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship Flyweight title for the sixth time by defeating Kyoji Horiguchi during UFC 186 at the Bell Centre on Saturday night. Johnson beat Horiguchi via armbar with one second left in the fifth and final round of the night’s main event, ending the longest UFC fight in history to have a stoppage, beating the previous record of Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson that finished at 4:56 of the fifth round.

Though Johnson dominated the majority of the fight, he did not have it easy. In the first round, Horiguchi tagged Johnson with punches and slammed home some decent body and leg kicks. By the second and third rounds, Johnson took control with key takedowns and standing strikes.

Horiguchi was drained by the final round. Johnson took advantage by spinning from a mounted crucifix into an armbar putting the exclamation mark on his victory.

Former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson also fought at UFC 186, taking on Brazilian Fabio Maldonado. Rampage punished Maldonado with his “bungalows”—a nickname for his fists, knees, low kicks, and the occasional head kick—to earn a unanimous decision from the judges.

The road to even enter the Bell Centre to fight was an ordeal for the former champion. Prior to Monday, Jackson was barred from fighting in the UFC due to a preliminary injunction filed by his former promotion group, Bellator MMA. However, the injunction was overturned this week by a New Jersey judge.

“Not only did I fight tonight, but I fought just to get to this octagon,” Jackson said. “I should’ve never left, but you never know until you do it.”

Earlier in the night, middleweight fighter Michael “The Count” Bisping rallied back from being knocked down in the first round to secure a unanimous decision victory over the 11th-ranked middleweight CB Dollaway. A left hook by Dollaway put Bisping on the mat, but Bisping recovered from the early setback and avoided enough takedowns for the victory.

“He proved to be a lot tougher than I expected,” Bisping said. “My ego is a little bruised that I didn’t get the finish and I didn’t put on my best performance but I’m happy with the win.”

Throughout the night, Canadian mixed martial artists shined. Chad Laprise, John Makdessi, Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Patrick Côté, Alexis Davis, Valerie Letourneau and Randa Markos were all victorious on an undercard that showcased the current crop of Canadian talent.

Chad Laprise, in particular, left his mark on the evening with a back and forth war with Bryan Barberena that kept the crowd on the edge of their seat for all three rounds.