Pettis, Esparza lose belts at UFC 185
Saturday was a bad night to be defending an Ultimate Fighting Championship belt.
Lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and women’s strawweight champ Carla Esparza lost their titles at UFC 185 in Dallas.
Rafael dos Anjos neutralized the explosive striking ability of Pettis by consistently beating him to the punch and keeping constant pressure on him. Whenever Pettis managed to find a brief moment of offensive efficiency, dos Anjos would take him to the ground.
It was a masterful performance by dos Anjos, who won all five rounds in his unanimous decision.
“I’m the best fighter in the world,” dos Anjos said. “I thank God for that.”
Pettis said dos Anjos caught him with a punch early in the first round that obstructed his vision throughout the fight.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk was just as dominant in a victory over Esparza. Jedrzejczyk’s striking skills were well documented, but her takedown defense was the real difference in this fight.
Esparza continually tried to get the fight to the ground, but Jedrzejczyk shrugged off each attempt and kept the fight in her comfort zone.
The champion was no match for Jedrzejczyk in the standup, and the fight was stopped at 4:17 of the second round as Esparza endured an onslaught with her back against the cage.
“I was working so hard on my wrestling, but no one believed in me. I’m not a striker anymore, I’m a complete mixed martial artist,” said Jedrzejczyk, who is from Poland. “After every fight, I’m so happy on the inside and the outside, but after this one I’m more happy on the inside for my parents, for my boyfriend and for my country – for everyone.
“I’m going to take my belt back to Europe and show everyone.”
Also on the card, Las Vegan Roy Nelson almost stole a victory with a desperation flurry in the closing seconds of his heavyweight fight against Alistair Overeem, but Overeem survived it and won a unanimous decision.
Overeem appeared in complete control when Nelson dropped him with a left hook with about 20 seconds remaining in the third and final round.
After Overeem got back to his feet, Nelson tried to throw him back to the ground to no avail and time ran out.
Overeem has won three of his past four fights after losing two straight, a turnaround he attributes to the fact he has had several training camps at Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, N.M.
“I felt very confident going into the fight,” Overeem said. “At Jackson’s, there’s a lot of chemistry. We work together, and everyone is there to help their teammates out. The environment over there gives me confidence. Everyone is very friendly. Switching to that camp has really been the recipe to my success.”
Former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks bounced back from losing the belt in December with a unanimous decision over Matt Brown.
Hendricks, a four-time All-America wrestler at Oklahoma State, returned to his Dallas roots by taking Brown down seven times. Hendricks wasn’t thrilled with the fight going the distance, but lobbied for a shot to regain the belt after Robbie Lawler defends it against Rory MacDonald in July.
“I was firing on all cylinders, and I felt great, but I’m disappointed in my performance,” Hendricks said. “I don’t know what it was, but I wasn’t able to hit him with any crisp shots.
“I’m going to keep my body fat down and be ready after Robbie and Rory fight.”
Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo controlled Chris Cariaso for three rounds to win a unanimous decision to remain unbeaten (8-0 as a professional, 2-0 with the UFC). The flyweight’s biggest challenge has been making weight, but he came in right at 125 pounds for Saturday’s fight.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
