UFC 141 Results: Danny Castillo Has Nothing to Apologize for After Close Victory

If he wanted to, Danny Castillo could have made like Dante Hicks and started complaining about how he wasn't even supposed to be at UFC 141.

He wasn't supposed to be there, of course. Castillo was called in on short notice to face Anthony Njokuani after Ramsey Nijem came down with an injury. 

It's therefore pretty impressive that Castillo was able to go the distance with Njokuani, much less come away with a split decision victory.

Castillo was on Njokuani from the very start. He scored a takedown in the early goings and that set the tone for the rest of the first round, which consisted primarily of Njokuani escaping from trouble only to find himself right back in it again. Castillo looked like he was going to end it when he moved to put Njokuani in a rear-naked choke, but Njokuani was able to escape.

It was clear at the start of the second round that Njokuani had learned something about Castillo in the first round, as he came out much more aggressively. The tide turned in Njokuani's favor as he landed more and more strikes, but Castillo was ultimately able to gather himself. Shortly before the round ended, he took Njokuani down once again.

Njokuani came out swinging again in the third round, but Castillo refused to give him an edge. Before long, he was able to get a grip on Njokuani and slam him to the ground. Njokuani was able to escape, but the damage was done. Castillo played it safe for the rest of the round and Njokuani was unable to connect with anything substantial.

Though Castillo succeeded in fighting his fight for the better part of the bout, the final tallies were close. That prompted Joe Rogan, perhaps emboldened by the boos coming from inside MGM Grand Garden Arena, to call it a "controversial" decision in the post-fight interview.

Naturally, Castillo took exception to that.

"Was that close to you?" Castillo asked. "I thought it was a little close but not controversial."

He has a point. Nothing Castillo did was particularly flashy, but he did have the fight in his hands for the better part of the proceedings. In fact, the only round that he didn't control was the second.

Not bad for a guy who had very little time to prepare. It's fair to wonder how Castillo would have fared if he'd had more time to get ready, and it's fair to conclude that he would have won more definitively.

As it is, Castillo's career is now on a slight upswing. He lost to Jacob Volkmann in August, but has won his last two fights.

And hey, at least he didn't embarrass himself by saying he wanted to give the President of the United States a glassectomy.