Bombs away!
It was no secret that the heavyweight fight between Joey Beltran vs. Lavar Johnson was going to be an outright crowd pleaser. What we didn't know, however, was that Johnson had the "Big" power to shut down the tough-as-nails "Mexicutioner."
Oh, but he does/did. And he showed it last night on the FUEL TV "Prelims" portion of the UFC on Fox 2: "Evans vs. Davis" fight card, drilling Beltran with vicious uppercuts until he collapsed into a heap of lifeless flesh.
Our very own Kevin Haggerty details the crazy action from MMAmania.com's UFC on FOX 2 play-by-play results coverage:
Beltran refuses to touch hands and gets right after it. Johnson lands first with a big right hand then clinches up against the fence and starts with the knees. Johnson leaning on him and is continuing to punish Beltran with knees to the body. Beltran answers with occasional knees that don't seem to be bothering his opponent. They're off the fence now and back to center. Beltran throws a lazy kick that misses everything and he already looks gassed. Beltran looks for a takedown but is reversed against the fence. Johnson with a powerful inside leg kick that has Beltran backing up. Johnson working the jabs now. Johnson with a big right straight hand to the body. Two and a half minutes left. Johnson snaps off two good quick jabs, backs away then comes in with several more jabs that have Beltran's head snapping back. Johnson has him pinned against the fence, wearing him down. Johnson pushes off, steps back and is working the jabs again. Johnson throws a big uppercut but misses. One minute left and Beltran throws a few quick punches, but again, nothing lands. Johnson lands another really good stuff jab. Johnson lands a huge combo! He's unloading! It's over! Lavar Johnson wins his UFC debut with huge KO victory over "The Mexicutioner!"
The sensational finish earned Johnson an extra $65,000 to go along with his fight purse, earning a handsome bonus for scoring the "Knockout of the Night."
Not bad for an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) newcomer, showing the big boys what Strikeforce heavyweights can do if given the opportunity.
Is Johnson one and done or does he have a promising future with the world's leading mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion?
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