A fight that had banger written all over it kicked off the UFC Vegas 58 main card in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Michael Johnson faced off with Jamie Mullarkey in the lightweight scrap, which saw Johnson looking to build off a May win over Brazilian Alan Patrick. Australia’s Mullarkey had picked up back-to-back stoppage wins against Khama Worthy and Devonte Smith last year, but was stopped himself via TKO against Jalin Turner at UFC 272 in March.
Round one Mullarkey worked a jab game that kept Johnson at bay, but anytime Mullarkey got close he would let loose with a flurry of quick punches. With a little over one minute left Johnson dropped Mullarkey with a shot, but then seconds later got dropped himself. Round ended with Johnson landing a knee to the body once he got up.
Round two and since they were all warmed up both men came out firing. Mullarkey working right hands and jabs, but always leading up to a high kick. Johnson with the quick combos, but eating a high kick rocked him for a moment. Both men fired big shots and landed on each other for the entire second round. This one clearly became the leader for fight of the night through two rounds.
Round three was all war with both men landing heavy shots on each other and nearly separating each other from their consciousness. Johnson landed constant combinations, and Mullarkey landed power shots each time he did land. The fight went to the judges and it was anyone’s guess as to who would take it. At this point it was easily fight of the night.
Official Result: Jamie Mullarkey def. Michael Johnson via (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) Split Decision
