TJ Dillashaw scores first-round TKO win over rival Cody Garbrandt to retain UFC bantamweight title

TJ Dillashaw finished long-time rival Cody in the first round to retain his UFC bantamweight championship at UFC 227 on Saturday night.

This firefight didn’t last long, but it was filled with action which saw both men get hurt.

Garbrandt, who refused to touch the gloves of his opponent, threw more kicks in this rematch than in his first fight and instantly commanded Dillashaw’s respect when touching him with a hook which staggered and provided him a swollen eye.

However, like in their last action-packed fight, Garbrandt was over eager to finish the fight and let his defensive sensibilities escape him. As Garbrandt wound up on a big hook, Dillashaw landed one of his own which floored the Ohio native.

Sensing blood, Dillashaw looked to pound out his opponent but Garbrandt did well to initially survive.

Garbrandt is too tough for his own good though, and continued to try and throw strikes, getting caught again which saw him retreat with his back to the cage fence.

Dillashaw sought his second chance to finish the fight for good, landing a crushing knee to the head and following up with punches to force referee Herb Dean to call an end to the contest.

Garbrandt was still standing against the cage, but Dean made the right call.

Dillashaw is still your UFC bantamweight champion and there are plenty of options for him going forward. Marlon Moraes is looking better than ever as a top-tier bantamweight contender, while former champion Dominick Cruz – who holds a win over Dillashaw – signaled his return from injury late last month.

Even Henry Cejudo called out the winner of tonight’s UFC bantamweight title fight to add to his newly-acquired flyweight crown.

Henry Cejudo becomes the UFC’s second ever flyweight champion with split decision win over Demetrious Johnson

Wow. In arguably the greatest flyweight fight in history to grace MMA, let alone the UFC, Henry Cejudo is your new UFC flyweight champion after taking the split decision over Demetrious Johnson.

That sees Cejudo become the promotion’s second-ever titleholder of the men’s 125lbs division.

Things got off to a bad start for Cejudo, whose ankle was seemingly giving out on him with each step in the early stages of the opening round. But, thankfully, the Olympic gold medalist soon recovered.

Cejudo’s aforementioned Olympic-level wrestling credentials told in this fight. Johnson landed the more strikes, routinely peppering Cejudo with crunching leg kicks, with knees to the body followed by punches as his opponent closed the distance to initiate the clinch.

However, Cejudo was more than competent on the feet and landed a number of significant strikes – largely through his punches – on one of the most elusive fighters in MMA.

Cejudo’s wrestling was the difference maker and landed some significant takedowns in rounds two, four and five – as well as a few Johnson smartly rolled out of. Cejudo was unable to do a whole lot of damage when on the ground, but expertly controlled Johnson when he was flat on his back.

It was a very, very close fight which could have been scored either way – as seen with the split decision. Perhaps it’s the inherent bias of seeing the rare sight of Johnson being taken down which swayed the judges.

Either way, Cejudo is your new UFC flyweight champion and he promptly called out the winner of Dillashaw – Garbrandt to have a crack at the belt the division above.

Renato Moicano announces this arrival as a top featherweight with submission win over Cub Swanson

It all started with a piercing jab for Brazilian Renato Moicano.

In the biggest fight of his career so far, Moicano looked calm and poised against the ever-entertaining Cub Swanson.

The pair looked fairly matched on the feet until Moicano threw a blinding-fast jab which knocked Swanson down. Moicano followed up with a number of strikes as Swanson diligently tried to recover and stay in the fight.

However, Moicano decided to take the fight down to the mat against the cage, essentially landing in full-mount.

After taking numerous strikes from above, Swanson gave his back to Moicano, who seized his opportunity to slide his arm under his opponent’s chin to squeeze on the rear-naked choke.

Swanson desperately tried to survive, but was eventually forced to tap.

Massive win for Moicano, who truly is the real deal and announced his arrival as a leading contender in one of the UFC’s most competitive divisions.

UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt II full results

Bantamweight championship: TJ Dillashaw defeats Cody Garbrandt by TKO (knee and punches) at 4:17 of round one.

Flyweight championship: Henry Cejudo defeats Demetrious Johnson (c) by split decision after five rounds.

Featherweight: Renato Moicano defeats Cub Swanson by submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:15 of round one.

Women’s Strawweight: JJ Aldrich defeats Polyana Viana by unanimous decision after three rounds.

MIddleweight: Thiago Santos defeats Kevin Holland by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Pedro Munhoz defeats Brett Johns by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Ricky Simon defeats Montel Jackson by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Ricardo Ramos defeats Kyung Ho Kang by split decision after three rounds.

Lightweight: John Makdessi defeats Ross Pearson by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Featherweight: Sheymon Moraes defeats Matt Sayles by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Flyweight: Alex Perez defeats Jose Torres by KO (punches) at 3:36 of round one.

Women’s Strawweight: Zhang Weili defeats Danielle Taylor by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Marlon Vera defeats Wuliji Buren by TKO (body punch and punches) at 4:53 of round two.