Demetrious Johnson keeps title
— -- LAS VEGAS -- If there was a flaw in Demetrious Johnson's latest performance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, it's that he actually made things look too easy.
Johnson (21-2-1) defended the UFC flyweight title for a fifth time at UFC 178 on Saturday night, submitting Chris Cariaso at 2:29 of the second round via a kimura. It was not a difficult fight for the 28-year-old champion, who seemed to exert the same amount of energy as one strolling through a park.
The Kirkland, Washington-based fighter scored a double-leg takedown moments into the second round and quickly advanced to side control. From there, he attacked the left arm of Cariaso (17-6) with an armbar, before switching to the kimura to finish the fight.
"That's one of the things we're working on," Johnson said. "Go for that straight armlock, step over the head, bend it back and ride it over their back. That's hard work paying off."
Cariaso, a massive underdog, was virtually at a loss start to finish. He fought on Johnson's terms the entire time, whether the fight was standing or on the ground.
After surrendering a takedown to Johnson in the first minute of the fight, Cariaso worked back to his feet but never materialized any offense. In the final 10 seconds of the round, Johnson hurt him with an overhand right and left knee to the chin, which prompted referee Herb Dean to closely monitor the action.
After the title bout, Johnson said his coaches wanted to tell him the overhand right was there, but were hesitant to encourage him to head hunt.
"My coaches were like, 'The overhand right is landing but we don't want to tell you that so you get greedy,'" Johnson said.
In the end, it wasn't the right hand but the takedown that was Johnson's biggest weapon. He passed Cariaso's guard easily after taking him down and scored the eighth submission win of his career. It's the second time he's defended the 125-pound title via submission. He tapped John Moraga via armbar in July 2013.
Ranked the No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world headed into the bout according to ESPN.com, Johnson did little to upset that rank. Since dropping to flyweight in 2012, Johnson is 6-0-1, with three finishes.
"(Becoming the best fighter in the world) is the goal I'm working toward," Johnson said.
Cariaso, who was ranked No. 7 at flyweight prior to the loss, sees a three-fight win streak snapped. Coming into the bout, he had collected three wins in less than 12 months, with victories over Iliarde Santos, Danny Martinez and Louis Smolka.
Attendance for UFC 178 was 10,544, while the gate totaled $2.2 million.
