UFC 185 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Pettis vs. Dos Anjos Card
There's a sort of abiding confusion around Anthony "Showtime" Pettis. What to make of him? Where to slot him? How to brand him?
But the confusion usually dissipates when Pettis does his thing. That thing being, namely, to wreck everyone he faces, every time, with an almost blinding combination of skill, panache and athleticism.
The reigning UFC lightweight champ has all the ingredients of a superstar but, for whatever reason, never seems to mesh into a finished dish. Despite four consecutive stoppage wins over elite opponents and a smooth demeanor outside the cage, the 28-year-old has yet to capture imaginations in the same way as someone like, say, Ronda Rousey.
Carla Esparza has a similar problem. Just a few months ago, she was brilliant in defeating Rose Namajunas to become the UFC's first-ever women's strawweight champion. But people were rooting for the more dynamic Namajunas. Esparza's style is dynamic in its own way, but she has yet to silence her doubters.
Pettis had another chance to become "the man" Saturday night at UFC 185 when he faced a similarly skilled but infinitely lower-profile fighter in Brazilian Rafael dos Anjos, himself a winner in eight of his last nine.
Esparza had an opportunity to gain a stronger foothold in the MMA consciousness when she defended her belt for the first time, against a confident opponent in Poland's Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
These two title fights were only the beginning of a truly loaded card in Dallas. And as always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 185.
For the literal-minded among us, full results appear at the end of the slideshow.
Winner: Rafael dos Anjos
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We have a new UFC lightweight champion.
Rafael dos Anjos had the perfect game plan for Pettis, and he executed it to a tee. The Brazilian started aggressively, pressuring Pettis backward and against the fence, rocking him with punches and high kicks.
Then the takedowns started.
It was a clean, clear decision for dos Anjos and the best performance of his life. He dictated the action in every phase, marking up Pettis and leaving no doubt as to who the best lightweight in the world is.
"I came from the bottom," the soft-spoken dos Anjos told broadcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. "I've imagined my whole life being here, fighting on the main event and being the UFC champion."
Now, some people may take issue with dos Anjos' claim as the best. Some people named Khabib. Khabib Nurmagomedov, to be exact. The undefeated Dagestani handled the Brazilian just a year ago. Nurmagomedov faces Donald Cerrone May 23. If he wins that fight—and that's a big "if"—he will get the title shot against dos Anjos, who has already said he wants a rematch, per MMA Weekly.
But unless that all happens, dos Anjos is the best. And he was brilliant in nabbing the belt from a substantial favorite in Pettis.
Loser: Anthony Pettis
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Let the confusion continue.
There's no question Pettis was flat at UFC 185. His striking was not as crisp as usual, he was never the more aggressive fighter, and his takedown defense was ineffective.
After the fight, Pettis indirectly offered a possible explanation, telling Rogan in the cage that dos Anjos had compromised his eyesight early.
"Man, he caught me with a left hand in the first round," Pettis said. "First punch he threw, I couldn't see out of my right eye the whole time."
Pettis is still young (28), and he will be back. But all the discussion of where he sits in the "pound-for-pound" discussion should cool down now, as Showtime re-climbs the ladder.
Winner: Joanna Champion
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OK, that's not her real name. Her real name is Joanna Jedrzejczyk. No matter how you spell it, she's the new belt holder in the women's strawweight division.
Before the fight, Jedrzejczyk was confident.
"After next Saturday," she told Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter, "you can call me Joanna Champion."
And here we are. Jedrzejczyk dominated champion Carla Esparza. She defended Esparza's many takedown attempts, preventing Esparza from getting her vaunted wrestling game going. Then she used her superior skill and substantial reach advantage to batter Esparza on the feet.
This one wasn't very close. That might have been the most surprising part of it. That and the nonstop barrage of straights and elbows that left Esparza looking like an Edward Scissorhands extra.
"I was working so hard. I said I was going to do it, and I did it," Jedrzejczyk told Rogan in the cage after the fight. "Every day, I'm a hungry person, and that's why I'm here."
And that's why you're the champion, Joanna.
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Loser: Activist Judges
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Oh, so you like the knockout, do you? You enjoy the submission, huh?
Well, you came to the right place if you tuned in for any part of UFC 185. Sorry, Texas judges. Maybe next time.
The evening only started with seven consecutive stoppages. If you're scoring at home, that's every bout on the preliminary card. Six of them were knockouts, one was a submission (thanks a lot, Beneil Dariush) and only one even reached the third round.
Then we had Joanna Champion's beating on Carla Esparza. All told, eight of the 12 bouts at UFC 185 ended before the final horn, and none of the four decisions was particularly close.
Winner: Johny Hendricks
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This wasn't the Johny Hendricks who hunts heads. But it was the Hendricks who wins titles.
Hendricks landed nine takedowns to none for his opponent, the dangerous Matt Brown. And in a nod to that danger—as well as his own outstanding wrestling—Hendricks held 11 minutes and 26 seconds of control time.
Brown was game, but he tired quickly, while Hendricks was stronger and more spry than he's been in a while, and that's saying something.
Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com summed it up fairly nicely:
"Hendricks looked in tip-top condition and was energetic from the get-go, as he took Brown (19-13) down at will, scoring seven takedowns altogether in the fight, in spite of several blatant fence grabs by the Cincinnati native...Hendricks got the best of things in the standup, unleashing his lethal left hands, and got in a fair bit of ground and pound when the fight hit the floor.
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Hendricks is likely in line for another shot at the title he won 364 days prior to Saturday. The winner in July's title fight between champ Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald won't have long to rest.
Loser: Roy Nelson
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Roy Nelson had his chances.
Alistair Overeem is what is known as a glass cannon, the punisher who is easily broken when you fire back. Well, Nelson proved that right, to an extent. Nelson would land one of those signature right hands, and Overeem would stagger back toward the fence.
But that's when the equation broke down. Overeem would put his hands up to cover his head, and Nelson would peer inside the defense like he was looking under the hood of a car, trying to figure out why the darn thing wouldn't start.
If you're waiting for Nelson to rediscover his jiu-jitsu chops or learn a new skill like a body shot, keep on waiting. Maybe next time. On Saturday night, The Reem had his way, using vicious low kicks and high knees to batter Nelson for 15 minutes and bring home the decision.
Good W for The Reem, bad L for The Roy.
Winner: Irish Hype
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This is what is known in the industry as announcing one's presence with authority.
Joseph Duffy, the latest in a wave of Irish fighters to join the UFC, used the foot and head movement he gained as a former boxer to avoid early offense from Jake Lindsey. Then he fired a high kick upside Lindsey's head and finished him with a body shot for the first-round TKO.
It was about as emphatic a UFC debut as one can have. But fans who have followed Duffy's career for a while weren't surprised. The 27-year-old lightweight is now 13-1, with all but one of his wins coming inside the distance.
And many of his prior victories came in Europe's highly respected Cage Warriors promotion. One of those wins was particularly notable and came over a guy named Conor McGregor. I wonder if the UFC knows that.
Loser: Germaine de Randamie
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Germaine de Randamie on Saturday turned in what was easily the best performance of her three-fight UFC tenure. The converted Dutch muay thai kickboxer finished Larissa Pacheco in the second round after battering her for the full duration.
So why in the name of all that is good and decent is she a loser?
For that answer, we go to the Rogan post-fight interview, in which Randamie revealed that one of her best friends—her beloved dog—was put to sleep earlier that week.
"This one's for him," she said.
It was a quietly touching moment from the prelims, delivered by Randamie with the same calm and grace with which she had minutes ago delivered that beating to Pacheco.
And while the entire event made The Iron Lady a winner, anyone who has ever owned a dog can understand her loss.
Full UFC 185 Results
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Main Card
Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis by unanimous decision (wins UFC lightweight title)
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza by TKO, 4:17, Rd. 2 (wins UFC strawweight title)
Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown by unanimous decision
Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson by unanimous decision
Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout by KO, 1:33, Rd. 2
Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez by TKO, 4:07, Rd. 2
Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:48, Rd. 2
Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland by TKO, 3:12, Rd. 3
Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis by TKO, 1:34, Rd. 2
Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey by TKO, 1:47, Rd. 1
Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco by TKO, 2:02, Rd. 2
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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