UFC Fight Night 73’s co-main event was a controversial fight between top lightweight contenders Michael Johnson and Beneil Dariush. The fight has been the talk of mixed martial arts fans and pundits since the event, with many questioning the judges’ call in awarding Dariush the winner via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29). Since the fight has inspired so much talk and criticism, I thought I should go back and watch the fight again, making sure to note key events along the way. I will give a round by round breakdown, as well as my scores for each round and my thoughts on the decision. Round 1: The round started slow, with each fighter showing respect for the other’s capabilities. This is a big change from Johnson’s strategy in his last fight against Edson Barboza, as he was extremely aggressive and tenacious in that bout right from the start. Dariush landed a few slapping leg kicks and jabs, while Johnson took the center of the cage, landed some jabs, and pushed Dariush back for a good portion of the first four minutes. The first four minutes were extremely close in terms of effective strikes landed. Both fighters came up short or missed on several of their strikes, with Dariush also whiffing on two takedown attempts. However, the tide turned around the one minute mark of the round, as Johnson dropped Dariush with a solid left hand. Johnson immediately went on the attack with punching combinations and body kicks, but Dariush was able to recover and survive the round. The last minute clearly solidified the round for Johnson, so this round should be easy to score for any judge. Round 1 score: 10-9 Johnson Round 2: This is the pivotal round of the fight, and also the round that is the subject of much of the controversy surrounding the contest. Johnson looked to start the round strong by immediately taking the center of the cage and forcing Dariush toward the fence. Johnson used constant movement and feints in an effort to create openings, which he did because Dariush was not doing a particularly good job of moving his head or keeping his hands up. Johnson landed several crisp left hands and jabs, while Dariush countered with a few body kicks, left hands, and jabs of his own. Dariush looked to land a flying knee on a few occasions and found himself being hit by hard counter left hands from Johnson in the process. Dariush got in pretty deep on two late takedown attempts, but Johnson was able to shrug him off without much trouble. While this round was much closer and by no means a blowout, I still scored it for Michael Johnson. He was the aggressor, landed the better strikes, and did a good job of controlling the distance. However, Dariush also landed at a good clip and Johnson never really hurt Dariush with anything. It was a slow paced round, almost like a good sparring session. Johnson was content to continue doing what he was doing, as he was convinced he was controlling the action and clearly winning the fight. Fightmetric totals show Johnson landed 35 significant strikes, with Dariush landing 22 of his own. Round 2 score: 10-9 Johnson Round 3: This is the round that many scored for Dariush, as this was by far his best round of the fight. He landed thirty-three significant strikes to Johnson’s twenty-five. Further, Beneil attempted thirteen more strikes than Johnson and landed at a higher percentage. Dariush used his flick jab a lot, which he combined with an occasional left hand and leg kick. Beneil would routinely hit Johnson with a jab and then immediately either move away before Johnson could counter or make him miss entirely. He would then get back into position to land his jab again. Johnson seemed to tire this round, while Dariush seemed to still have plenty of gas left in the tank. Johnson seemed to shift into cruise control, which is not something a fighter should ever do because of the sorry state of judging in this sport. Round 3 score: 10-9 Dariush Fight Score: 29-28 Michael Johnson Thoughts: As indicated by my score of this fight, I would clearly file this into the “bad decision” category. It was not an action packed fight, it honestly looked like a hard sparring session for much of the time. Both fighters seemed to shift into cruise control at times. I do think Johnson should have won this fight based on the current ten point must system, as I scored the first and second rounds for him. However, the second round was somewhat close so I would not say this was a huge robbery, just a bad decision. I think Johnson could have and should have done more. He did not have the same aggression as he did in his last fight and it cost him a decision here. Dariush now has won five in a row, while Johnson’s four fight winning streak comes to an end. Fortunately for Johnson, in the new UFC rankings he still resides in the #5 spot. Dariush moved up two spots to become the #10 ranked lightweight in the promotion.
