Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson met inside the octagon for the second time in their careers to again decide the fate of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. The fans in the KeyBank Arena stood firmly behind the favored challenger while Cormier walked down to the octagon confident despite being the underdog.
[FIGHT VIDEOS UNDER OFFICIAL RESULT BELOW]
DC was instantly put against the fence with Johnson looking to work him down. Along the fence, however, DC would land knees to the gut. DC was taken down by Johnson but he hopped right back up to his feet. DC stuffed a takedown attempt and placed Johnson in a front-headlock position to suck the air out of him. Johnson found some space between him and DC and fired off several blows but none of them landed flush.
Johnson landed some major blows and a kick roughed up DC, but a clinch engaged by Johnson brought the action right back to the fence.
DC closed the distance early on in the opening round, working to bring Johnson down to the canvas. DC kept peppering Johnson with punches along the fence. As soon as Johnson separated from the clinch, however, he shot for a knee only to let DC take him right back down. Cormier took the back of Johnson along the fence and worked for a rear-naked choke but Johnson scooted out of it. DC still had the back of Johnson, however, and Cormier was able to sneak in the arm for the choke.
Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson by way of Submission (RNC) 3:37 of Round 2
The Champ @dc_mma is here and he can’t wait to get into the #UFC210 Octagon! pic.twitter.com/fV5s049FEP
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
The challenger! @Anthony_Rumble enters the #UFC210 Octagon pic.twitter.com/SNHj9Awemx
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
IT’S TIME!!! Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson at #UFC210!! pic.twitter.com/z8sAUROb0r
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
Wow!! @dc_mma keeps the belt at #UFC210!! #ANDSTILL pic.twitter.com/qlBiJJpRun
— UFC (@ufc) April 9, 2017
Cormier and Jimi Manuwa had a brief altercation after the fight. Is this the next scrap to make, or should Jon Jones be next? Let us know in the comment section below!