The main card of the UFC on Fox 9: "Johnson vs. Benavidez 2" event tonight (Sat., Dec. 14, 2013) at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California, kicked off with a lightweight battle pitting bonus award winning king Joe Lauzon against vegan warrior Mac Danzig.
The two were incredibly aggressive early and it paid off for Lauzon, who earned a takedown and passed to full mount within the first two minutes of the contest. After that, he was throwing submissions and very nearly scored a finish in the very first round.
Danzig, to his credit, survived.
Lauzon would earn a second takedown before the round was over, with the horn sounding while he was in top position. Though he struggled at times, that's about as good as it gets for an opening salvo.
The second round was less satisfying than the first, at least in regards to action. Still, Lauzon found himself on top and raining down elbows, one of which opened Danzig up, before throwing another few submission attempts.
Through two, it seemed to be "J-Lau's" fight.
The final frame told the same story the first two did. Lauzon's grappling game was simply too much for Danzig to handle. That manifested itself in a crucifix that bloodied Mac up even worse before a pass to full mount and even more submission attacks.
Danzig managed to make it to the final horn but that's the best you could say about his performance in this fight. Lauzon was ultimately awarded the unanimous decision win on scores of 30-27 across the board.
For complete UFC on Fox 9 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.