UFC Live: Cruz vs Johnson: Winners and Losers from Saturday's Fights

The card for last night's fights was full of exciting fighters and promised a lot of action in Washington, D.C.

If you blinked, there was a chance that you would have missed an incredible finish.

We saw the rematch between Ultimate Fighter winners Mac Danzig and Matt Wiman. The last time these two fighters matched up, the fight ended in controversial fashion.

Wiman sunk in a guillotine choke and the referee had thought that Danzig had tapped, but if you take a look at the replay, it was clear that Ohio native was fine.

Danzig was out to prove that he was the better fighter, while Wiman was looking for the same result as their first fight.

Fight fans also saw the return of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson who had not fought since March when he successfully defeated former No. 1 contender Dan Hardy.

Against him was underdog Charlie Brenneman who had a successful upset victory against Rick Story in his last fight.

In the co-main event we witnessed the biggest height differential in UFC history as 6'11 Stefan Struve went up against 5'11" Pat Barry.

And in our main event, the bantamweight division looked to show everyone watching on versus two of their top fighters from the relatively new division to the UFC.

With a night full of action, let's take a look at the winners and losers from last night's fights.

Loser: Mac Danzig

In Mac Danzig and Matt Wiman's first fight at UFC 115, the end result was one of the most controversial in UFC history.

In his next fight following the loss, Danzig went out and delivered one of the most impressive knockouts against Joe Stevenson, the first time Stevenson had been knocked out in seven years.

Danzig was looking to carry that momentum into his rematch with Wiman and he was able to show more of his impressive striking in defeat.

Most of the fight was on the feet and the two went at it. Danzig delivered elbows throughout the fight, but Wiman continued to press forward, one of the main reasons he got the decision.

Where I was most impressed with Danzig was in the second round when Wiman was looking to lock in an armbar.

Both commentators Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg thought that Danzig was in trouble, but the 31-year-old was able to get out of it and went immediately to ground and pound.

At the end of the third round, Danzig tried to lock in a guillotine choke and had it in tight, but Wiman was saved by the bell.

Danzig fought his heart out and has done so throughout his career. He is 2-2 in his last four fights (2-1 if you don't count he and Wiman's first fight) and has not been able to win back-to-back fights since his first two fights in the UFC.

Winner: Matt Wiman

Even with Danzig throwing some vicious elbows early in the fight, "Handsome" Matt Wiman kept coming at him and controlled the pace of the fight.

The fight was back and forth until in the second round when Danzig had Wiman with his back against the cage. While Danzig was hitting several of his punches, Wiman threw a knee to the midsection that caused Danzig to back off and Wiman took control.

Wiman was also able to throw several elbows that were more accurate that those of Danzig and was the fresher fighter of the two.

Wiman almost ended the fight with an armbar in the second round, but couldn't get the finish like he did in their first fight.

In the end, the 28-year-old scored two of the three rounds from the judges and has won four of his last five fights. His only loss came to a skilled Dennis Siver in a fight that some had thought Wiman was victorious in.

Wiman has shown that he is skilled in the lightweight division and should get a step up in competition.

Possibly a rematch against Jim Miller or Sam Stout could be in order for the Colorado native to prove that he has improved since those back-to-back losses.

Winner: Anthony Johnson

At the beginning of the fight, Mike Goldberg called Anthony "Rumble" Johnson one of the most powerful welterweights in the division.

Before his last fight against Dan Hardy, Johnson had won all of his fights by KO or technical knockout.

Against Hardy, Johnson won his first victory by decision and dominated the Brit with his underrated wrestling.

In the pre-fight interviews, Johnson promised that the old Rumble would return against Charlie Brenneman and he kept that promise.

When Brenneman's takedown attempt failed, Johnson landed some powerful punches on the ground, almost ending the fight with hammer fists.

Brenneman got to his feet, but was not standing for long as Johnson landed an impressive head kick that rocked the Pennsylvania native.

At that point, referee Mario Yamasaki had seen enough and called the fight.

Brenneman complained that the fight was called too early as he was not unconscious, but the fight was so one-sided, I don't think it would have mattered if the fight continued or not. The result would have been the same.

Even though he comes into the fight at 170 pounds, Johnson is one of, if the biggest fighters in his division and struggles to make weight.

It has been suggested several times that the 27-year-old make the move to middleweight, but Johnson continues to show that the weight cut is not an issue and that he has the skills to climb to the top of the rankings.

Watch for Johnson to get a rise in competition.

Loser: Charlie Brenneman

Charlie Brenneman pulled off a huge upset in his last fight against Rick Story.

After the controversy involving Nate Marquardt, Brenneman was bumped up to fight Story on one days notice.

Brenneman used his superior wrestling and controlled the fight all three rounds and won in front of his home crowd in Pittsburgh.

Brenneman was the underdog again against Johnson and was the weaker of the two fighters.

It was clear quickly that Brenneman did not want to stand with Johnson and went for a takedown within the few seconds of the fight.

Johnson had an impressive sprawl and put his weight on the 30-year-old. Instead of trying to move out from underneath him, Brenneman stayed on his knees and continued to try and take Rumble down.

When they finally got to the feet, Johnson ended it with the kick and Brenneman stated that he could have kept going, but the decision to call the fight was for his safety.

Johnson's wrestling, striking, and overall strength overpowered Brenneman and if the fight would have continued, Brenneman would have taken more and more punishment.

Brenneman has some work to do before he is challenging the top fighters in the welterweight division. He will have to become a better all around fighter and improve his striking.

Winner: Stefan Struve

Whether he wins or loses, 6'11" Stefan Struve puts on impressive fights.

His last four fights Struve has gone 2-2, but all of the fights have ended in either KO or TKO.

In his last fight, Struve suffered one of the most impressive knockouts as Travis Browne landed a superman punch that knocked the Dutch out cold.

Last night, he went up against Pat Barry, who was an entire foot shorter than him, and Struve won with an impressive submission victory.

In a boring first round, the size advantage did not play too much in Struve's favor. To give an example, Struve went for a takedown in the first round and headbutted Barry. Struve could not even get down low enough to get at Barry's legs because his massive size.

In the second round, Struve went for a standing d'arce. When he couldn't sink it in, he switched to a guillotine choke and got Barry to the ground.

Barry went to side control, where Struve switched yet again, this time to a triangle choke.

Even after Barry picked Struve up and slammed him, Struve used his elbow to cushion the blow and held on for the victory.

Struve has shown his striking ability in his last few fights, but tonight we got to see some impressive jiu-jitsu.

Struve won't be in the top ten in heavyweights anytime soon, but he always puts on an exciting fight and there is something enjoyable about watching a giant fight.

Loser: Pat Barry

When Pat Barry first came into the UFC, he put together some impressive victories with his leg kicks, as well as his powerful striking.

In his last fight against Cheick Kongo, Barry and the rest of Pittsburgh thought that he had won the fight after he rocked Kongo several times while on the feet.

However, with a dazed Kongo against the cage, Barry went in for the kill and Kongo landed a punch that knocked "HD" unconscious.

Barry was looking to rebound against Stefan Struve, but could not come up with the victory.

When the two were on the feet, Barry could not do anything with the foot height difference. Barry could not even land a head kick (more of an shoulder kick) and had to stick to punches to the body.

Struve went for the d'arce choke and Barry showed good submission defense, until it went to the ground.

Barry was able to get to side control to stop Struve from sinking in the guillotine, but when Struve switched to the triangle, Barry was not fast enough to pull out of the submission.

Struve has good jiu-jitsu, but when he switched to the triangle, it looked as if the fight was in slow motion.

Barry had plenty of time to either pull out of the submission or to stop Struve from locking it in, but failed to do so.

With two losses in as many fights, Barry will take a step down in competition in his next fight. If his losing streak continues, Barry may soon be shown the door.

Winner: Dominick Cruz

Dominick Cruz came into Saturday night with a nine-fight winning streak.

In his last fight, Cruz defeated former champion Urijah Faber where the two went to war for five rounds.

After the fight, Faber stated that he was impressed with Cruz's speed and the pace that he kept the fight at.

On Saturday, Cruz faced Demetrious Johnson, a fighter also known for his incredible speed.

Johnson came right at Cruz early on the fight and Cruz was forced to use his wrestling to take control.

Johnson could not stop Cruz's takedowns, including two impressive slams, as the "Dominator" got the 25-year-old on the ground numerous times in the later rounds.

While on the feet, Johnson threw several head kicks at the champion that he was not only able to dodge, but took advantage of the challenger being off balance and putting him on the ground.

Cruz attempted two rear naked chokes and was unsuccessful as Johnson showed some impressive ground defense

Even though Cruz could not finish the fight, he kept with his nickname and dominated the entirety of the fight, getting a 50-45 score from two of the three judges.

Cruz and featherweight champion Jose Aldo don't get a lot of recognition in the UFC as they are still growing after the WEC was absorbed last year.

After his second victory in the UFC under his belt, the 26-year-old has a lot of challengers lined up to try to steal his belt away.

With a few more wins, the Dominator will become a household name.

Winner: Demetrious Johnson

One of the best parts of Dominick Cruz's fight game is his ability to keep the pace and come at all angles with attacks using his speed.

One of the best parts of Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, is the same thing.

This was a great fight between two of the fastest fighters in mixed martial arts who continually came at each other for five straight rounds

This was Johnson's first main event in the UFC and he did not disappoint.

In the early rounds, Johnson smothered Cruz and surprised him by using Cruz's strength to his advantage, his speed.

However, Johnson struggled to stop Cruz's takedowns as Cruz used his superior wrestling skills to control the fight.

While on the ground, Johnson showed some impressive ground defense and was able to roll out of not only one, but two straight rear naked choke attempts.

In the end, the judges looked at the takedowns by Cruz in the later rounds, as well as the fact that Johnson could not make much of an impact with his strikes.

Without a doubt, however, Demetrious Johnson showed that he is one of the best fighters at 135 pounds.

Johnson showed incredible speed, ground, and submission defense in the fight, but fell short to one of the best fighters in the world in Cruz.

Mighty Mouse has accomplished a lot at only 25-years-old and may have gained some new fans last night, but still needs to improve his takedown defense before he becomes a champion.