Robert Whittaker has knocked out number three ranked middleweight Ronaldo ´Jacare´ Souza in spectacular fashion on the main card of UFC Kansas City earlier today.
After edging the first round by out-striking the Brazilian submission specialist and getting out of a possibly dangerous situation on the ground the Aussie/Kiwi looked better than ever.
The second round went just as Whittaker predicted the fight would go, he knocked-down Souza in the first minute and whilst that didn’t end the fight, Souza didn’t land anymore meaningful offense for the rest of the fight.
After landing a few more warning shots, Whittaker ended the fight with vicious ground-and-pound after landing a right head-kick which dropped Souza for a second and final time.
It was the same head-kick in which he ended his previous fight with Derek Brunson and it has become an incredibly dangerous weapon for Whittaker
“Bisping owes me a fight,” said Whittaker in his post-fight interview, obviously angling at a title fight.
Whittaker was scheduled to fight current UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping at UFC 193 in Melbourne, but Bisping pulled out of the fight, opting for elbow surgery, which Whittaker camp believes was a ploy to avoid the rising star.
Other options for Whittaker’s next fight are either Yoel Romero or Luke Rockhold, neither of whom have a fight and are both currently ranked higher than Whittaker in the midweight division. Rockhold in particular made his feelings known about ´The Reaper.´
Former middleweight champion @LukeRockhold just reached out to me to say he’s down to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 213 on July 8.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) April 16, 2017
Demetrious Johnson vs Wilson Reis
Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson has equaled Anderson Silva’s record of 10 consecutive title defences. Johnson submitted Brazilian Wilson Reis near the end of the third round.
Johnson outclassed Reis, barely letting the Brazilian connect with any of his strikes and when Reis tried to take ‘Mighty Mouse’ down, the attempts were stuffed with ease.
After dominating the first two rounds, including a knock-down late in the second-round. Johnson executed a takedown early in the third round and ended the fight with an armbar.
“I’ve already told Dana White (UFC President) that I need seven figures. I need $1,000,000, but next fight, we break the record BABY!” exclaimed Johnson, who seemed fully aware how close he was to history.
As far as who’s next for Johnson, the winner of the match between Henry Cejudo and Sergio Pettis scheduled for UFC 211 seems the most logical opponent.
However the winner of number one ranked flyweight Joesph Benavidez and Ben Nguyen at UFC Auckland in June may also be on the cards.
Regardless of the opponent, it’s hard to see anybody in the flyweight division getting in the way of Demetrious Johnson creating history and becoming the longest reigning champion in any weight class in UFC history.
Full card results:
- Demetrious Johnson def. Wilson Reis via submission (armbar) – Round 3, 4:49 — Flyweight title fight
- Rose Namajunas def. Michelle Waterson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:47
- Robert Whittaker def. Ronaldo Souza via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:28
- Renato Moicano def. Jeremy Stephens via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Alexander Volkov def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Tom Duquesnoy def. Patrick Williams via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 0:28
- Rashid Magomedov def. Bobby Green via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Tim Elliott def. Louis Smolka via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Aljamain Sterling def. Augusto Mendes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Devin Clark def. Jake Collier via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Anthony Smith def. Andrew Sanchez via knockout (knee, punches) – Round 3, 3:52
- Zak Cummings def. Nathan Coy via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 4:21
- Ketlen Vieira def. Ashlee Evans-Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
