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UFC on Fox 9: ‘Mighty Mouse’ mashes Joseph Benavidez

Demetrious Johnson, Urijah Faber cap off final Fox card of the year with blowouts

UFC 6

Associated Press

Demetrious Johnson, center, is pulled away from Joseph Benavidez after knocking Benavidez out in the first round of a UFC flyweight mixed martial arts title fight in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

UFC on Fox 9

Defending champ Demetrious Johnson celebrates after knocking out Joseph Benavidez in the first round of their UFC flyweight mixed martial arts title fight in Sacramento, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. Launch slideshow »

Note: Full results from the preliminary card available at the bottom of the page.

Standing in the center of the octagon moments after the shocking conclusion of UFC on Fox 9, Demetrious Johnson experienced a thought shooting through his brain.

Given what had just taken place, it was one "Mighty Mouse" had to vocalize.

“A lot of people say I don’t have knockout power,” Johnson articulated.

Not anymore they don’t. Johnson retained his flyweight championship Saturday night at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, Calif., with the fastest knockout in the division’s history.

Johnson put Joseph Benavidez out cold 2:09 into a rematch of a fight that went five rounds and ended in a split-decision verdict 15 short months ago. It marked Johnson’s first knockout in the UFC, and the first time Benavidez had ever gotten stopped in his career.

“When I was out there getting my timing and trying to get my footwork going, I noticed the way he was defending,” Johnson said on the post-fight show. “He was all over the place. I just threw from right field and it landed. I was happy to get the finish.”

Johnson ruined the expectation of the fight being one of the most closely contested championship bouts of the year. He made the oddsmakers who installed the scrap as a near pick’em and the bettors who kept it there look severely misinformed.

The same thing happened in the co-main event, though the local Team Alpha Male product made it a more blissful occasion for the crowd. Benavidez’s teammate and mentor Urijah Faber posted a blowout win over Michael McDonald.

After receiving a hearty welcome from his home crowd, “The California Kid” out-wrestled and out-struck “Mayday” for the first eight minutes of the bout. Faber made it a complete performance by stopping McDonald with a guillotine choke at 3:22 of the first round.

“It was a little bittersweet with one of my best friends and teammate Joseph going down but what a great champion Demetrious is,” Faber said. “Joseph will be back stronger.”

Check below for the rest of the results from UFC on Fox 9.

Despite battling a flu which left him drained before the end of the first round, Chad Mendes beat nemesis Nik Lentz by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a featherweight bout. Mendes caught Lentz with a right hand in the first round and a flying knee in the third round for knockdowns but could never finish to fulfill his promise of a knockout.

The first fight on the main card was extremely one-sided. Joe Lauzon took every round on all three judges’ scorecards against Mac Danzig, recording a unanimous-decision victory in their lightweight bout.

Middleweight prospect Ryan LaFlare’s torrid start in the UFC continued. The New York native won his third fight in eight months despite a major step-up in competition as LaFlare beat Court McGee by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

The crowd vociferously booed a majority-decision win (29-28, 29-28, 28-28) for Edson Barboza over Danny Castillo, in a lightweight bout and not just because the latter is a Sacramento local. Castillo deserved a 10-8 score in the first round for dropping Barboza, cutting him open and nearly finishing him but was victimized by only one judge scoring it the way UFC President Dana White described as correct.

Bobby Green made his strikes count against Pat Healy. Although Healy finished with an edge in volume, Green let his force make up for the deficit. Green’s power led him to a unanimous-decision win (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over Healy.

Scott Jorgensen’s flyweight debut panned. UFC newcomer Zach Makovsky upset Jorgensen by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) with a clear edge in striking.

Sam Stout won a unanimous decision over Cody McKenize in a lightweight bout, taking every round according to every judge. California Athletic Commission officials had to run across the street before the fight to buy McKenzie a pair of shorts after he left his at the hotel. McKenzie’s performance in the fight was just as disheveled.

Abel Trujillo left no doubt this time against Roger Bowling. Trujillo defeated Bowling via TKO at 1:35 of the second round in a lightweight bout to settle the score after their first fight ended in a controversial no contest.

Alptekin Ozkilic beat Darren Uyenoyama by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29) in a flyweight bout.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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