The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to Montreal, Quebec, Canada this past Saturday night (April 25, 2015) for the seventh time in the promotion’s history with UFC 186: Johnson vs Horiguchi. After the event concluded, the UFC awarded $50,000 to two fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and two fighters for ‘Fight of the Night’. The lines to wager on these props were available at Several Bookmakerss. Thomas de Almeida earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) The Brazilian extended his Octagon winning streak to 2-0 with a first round TKO of veteran Yves Jabouin. Remaining undefeated as a professional mixed martial artist, the sky is the limit for the 23-year old and fight fans very much look forward to his next outing. It would be no surprise to see him crack the 135-pound division’s top 15 by the end of the year. Noteworthy T/KO(s): – John Makdessi defeated Shane Campbell via first round TKO in a very entertaining stand-up affair. Campbell got the better of the Lebanese-Canadian in the early going of the stanza, but he paid the price with his atrocious striking defense, as Makdessi was able to connect enough with his precise shots to hurt the promotional newcomer and eventually put him away with seconds remaining in the opening frame. Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Submission of the Night) Johnson made his sixth successful UFC flyweight title defense and made history by scoring the latest ever UFC stoppage with his armbar submission of Kyoji Horiguchi with only one second remaining in the fifth and final round of action. It was another excellent outing by the champion, who continues to make his case for being the top pound-for-pound fighter. Noteworthy Submissions: – Alexis Davis defeated Sarah Kaufman via second round armbar submission. This was the third meeting between these women’s bantamweights, with Kaufman getting her hand raised in the two previous meetings. It seemed as if she may be on her way towards a hat trick in the early going of the contest, as she dominated Davis in the striking department. However, Davis started to gain some confidence towards the end of the first round, and continued it into the second, immediately landing a takedown and transitioning into mount without missing a beat. She quickly began using her superior Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills by attempting a mounted triangle, but when she locked a hold of the position, she wound up on her back. She wasn’t able to secure it the way she wanted, so Davis opted to transition into a belly-down armbar, and it Kaufman had no choice but to tap. Davis returned to the win column in impressive fashion and avenged her two previous losses, likely making this the most fulfilling victory of her professional mixed martial arts career. – Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated David Michaud via submission in the third round of action. After getting the better of the MMA Lab product throughout the majority of the first two rounds, the TUF: Nations finalst wrapped things up with his famed rear naked choke, earning the tap from a very disappointed Michaud. That marked the French-Canadian’s sixth submission victory in as many fights, and fifth by rear naked choke. Fight fans look forward to this TUF veterans next Octagon outing. Chad Laprise and Bryan Barbarena earn Fight of the Night for their three round war on the evening’s main card. Laprise proved to be the superior striker throughout the contest and nearly finished Barbarena in the first frame, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the MMA Lab product. Barbarena proved to be very tough and durable, as he survived the early onslaught from the TUF: Nations winner. After giving it his all in a failed attempt to earn his first Octagon stoppage in the first round, Laprise knew he had gassed himself trying to finish his opponent. Being wise and displaying great fight IQ, he slowed his pace in the second round and kept things technical, managing to outpoint Barbarena. The French-Canadian slowed even more in the third and final round, where Barbarena started turning it up. I thought the third third was close and could have gone either way, but I personally scored it for Barbarena, giving the fight to Laprise 29-28 after outstriking Barbarena throughout the first two rounds of action. Two out of three judges at Octagon-side agreed with me, giving the TUF veteran a 29-28 score, with one giving him 30-27, and ultimately a unanimous decision victory. Laprise remains undefeated by reaching double digits in wins with 10, and goes 3-0 inside the Octagon. Other noteworthy fights: – Michael Bisping defeated CB Dollaway via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, after being knocked down by “The Doberman” late in the first round. Aside from the strong end to the first round by Dollaway, it was mostly the Brit getting the better of the action on the feet, using his speed and superior technical striking to get the job done. – The aforementioned Makdessi vs Campbell. – Valerie Letourneau defeated Jessica Rakoczy via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to go 2-0 inside the Octagon. Both ladies were making their 115-pound debuts, dropping down from 135-pounds, and they both put on a hell of a show. This was one of those match-ups where there is no real loser. I look forward to seeing both these ladies compete again in this ever-growing razor-thin women’s strawweight division. – Randa Markos defeated Aisling Daly via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards, picking up her first UFC win, after falling short against Jessica Penne in her ‘Fight of the Night’ bonus winning promotional debut. It was a solid outing by Markos, who showed great heart in this contest and gave it her all to get her hand raised. These are another pair of women’s strawweights that fight fans will be eager to see back inside the Octagon as soon as possible.
