ANOTHER BRAZILIAN MMA LEGEND SLAIN BY YANKEE
TJ Dillashaw Sets Tone Early
Las Vegas, NV- In a shocking upset, a vastly improved T.J. Dillashaw (11-2) put a beating on bantamweight (135) champion Renan Barao (32-2) before dropping him and finishing him off in the 5th round. The new champ set the tone for the evening when he drilled the Brazilian into the canvas with a single right hand.
BOXING KEY TO VICTORY
Although the Team Alpha Male member fighting out of Sacramento, CA mixed in some takedowns here and there, it was Dillashaw’s superior boxing and footwork that allowed him to pull off a bigger upset than Chris Weidman did in beating Anderson Silva the first time last year. Barao was heavily favored going in but was thoroughly dominated by the new titleholder who was ranked #9.
AMERICANS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE UFC
With the win, Dillashaw joins 8 other Americans who currently hold UFC belts: Demetrious Johnson at flyweight (125), Dillashaw at 135, Anthony Pettis lightweight (155), Johny Hendricks (170) welterweight, Chris Weidman (185), Jon Jones (205) light heavyweight and heavyweight (-265) Cain Velasquez. The lone non-American in the mix is featherweight (145) king Jose Aldo (24-1) of Brazil.
DANIEL CORMIER HAS STILL NOT LOST A ROUND!
In the co-main event, light heavyweight (205) contender Daniel Cormier (15-0) remained unbeaten with a third round submission of Dan Henderson (30-12). Winner of the Showtime aired Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix tounrney beating Josh Barnett in the finale, Daniel drops to 205 because heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez and he are like “blood brothers” and would never fight one another. Cormier controlled the action throughout and looked very strong at the weight in only his second fight at 205.
GOOD FIGHT ON PAPER, ONE SIDED IN CAGE
Welterweight (170) Robbie Lawler (23-10-1) scored a TKO 3 over Jake Ellenberger (29-8) in a pretty one-sided bout. Ellenberger had some moments but could not sustain any real offense and ultimately got stopped. Bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki (20-7-2) was a UD 3 over Francisco Rivera (10-3-0-1).
FREAK INJURY ENDS LIGHTWEIGHT SCRAP
Lightweight (155) James Crouse (21-5) got a win over Jamie Varner (21-10-1-2) after Varner suffered a broken ankle midway through the first round. Varner lasted the full round but decided to call it a day when he got back to his corner. A bizarre ending to a fight in which Varner seemed to have the upper hand prior to the injury.
Zak Young