If this doesn't silence the "morons," nothing will.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson was up on the scorecards -- way up -- in the fifth and final round of his UFC on FOX 8 title defense against John Moraga, which took place at the KeyArena last Saturday night (July 27, 2013) in Seattle, Washington.
See all the results and live coverage from "Johnson vs. Moraga" here.
With less than two minutes to go, "Mighty Mouse" scored his twelfth takedown of the fight and could have very easily coasted to a clear-cut unanimous decision win. In short, he had the option to "play it safe" and not do anything risky enough to potentially cost him the fight.
Option declined.
Johnson (18-2-1) submitted Moraga by way of armbar at 3:43 of round five to lock up the latest submission in UFC history (23:43), while simultaneously ending a streak of seven straight contests without a finish. In the process, the Kirkland native separated himself from Georges St. Pierre and Ben Henderson, two other division titleholders unable to seal the deal in recent fights.
"Rush" has seen the judges in six straight bouts while "Smooth" has done it in eight.
But it's important to note that Johnson's finish -- while impressive -- is not the talking point following his dominant display in "The Emerald City." You can polish off your opponent and still turn in a putrid performance. Remember when Frank Mir knocked out Mirko Filipovic?
Me neither.
Instead, the focus is on how Johnson was trying to finish from the onset of the fight, using the takedown to work for a submission, rather than using it to run out the clock. Not bad for a fighter who claimed a finish was "not important" in his post-fight interview.
It's clearly important to mixed martial arts (MMA) fans.
If it wasn't, UFC President Dana White wouldn't be forced to defend his decision to put 125-pound fighters on future pay-per-view (PPV) cards, or go to war with media members who may not believe smaller fighters can be "exciting." If you watched the UFC on FOX 8 main event and thought, "Meh," it might be time to find a new sport.
Save that noise for the co-meh event between Rory MacDonald vs. Jake Ellenberger.
"Mighty Mouse" outclassed Moraga, but also demonstrated what makes MMA great, and that's a fight that actually puts the mixed back in the martial arts. They had speedy striking exchanges, grueling clinch work, grappling stalemates and of course, wrestling, all of which led to an eventual finish.
What more could you ask for?
For additional results and fallout from UFC on FOX 8 including recaps, reactions, videos, analysis and more, check out our live "Johnson vs. Moraga" news feed by clicking here.