Charles “Inner G” Johnson made the trip to Azerbaijan to face Asu Almabayev in a flyweight fight at UFC Baku on Saturday.
Johnson, who holds a win over current flyweight champion Josh Van in the UFC, had been trading wins and losses across his last four fights. Almabayev, from Kazakhstan, was 6-1 in the promotion and ranked #9 in the division to Johnson’s #14.
Johnson used his length early, looking to land kicks, but Almabayev was able to land a few inside leg kicks of his own, and threaten with a couple of overhand rights. Johnson flashed stance switches, but ate a hook for his troubles and had to get out of the way of an Almabayev uppercut. Moments later, Johnson found himself on his back with Almabayev getting on top, in half guard, though Johnson reclaimed full guard before getting a butterfly hook in place. Yet try as he might, Johnson could not lift Almabayev enough to scramble free. Instead, Asu settled back in on top and moved to a guillotine, though he didn’t have it, and Johnson was at least able to move to a three-point stance.
Johnson had to contend with more leg kicks and overhands in round two, and when he tried to clinch up and land a takedown, Almabayev was having none of it. 90 seconds in, and Johnson slipped off a kick, nearly giving away dominant position though he was able to scramble free. Moments latter, “Inner G” had to endure a low blow in the form of a spinning back kick, with his “little Gs” needing a moment to recover. After a brief halt to the action, Johnson was good to go, with Almabayev getting right in his face off the restart. A quick takedown/mat return followed, and once back up Johnson finally got some offense in, firing a combo with Almabayev covering up. Seconds later, another takedown for Almabayev, who secured Johnson’s back after transitioning from side control. Johnson finished the round trapped in Almabayev’s bodylock, but he did finish the round.
“This is now a race for five minutes to knock him out. You’re not in a marathon no more, you’re in a race and you’ve got to knock him out,” Johnson’s corner exclaimed as the third round got underway. Almabayev came out swinging, then caught a Johnson knee and took him down, only to get stuck in a triangle. It looked dicey for a bit, but Almabayev survived, took the back, and after a bit of work, locked in the rarely-seen Suloev stretch! Johnson couldn’t pull free, was clearly in pain and forced to tap in short order! A stunning finish to a fantastic performance by Asu Almabayev.
Official Result: Asu Almabayev def. Charles Johnson by submission (Suloev stretch), Round 3, 3:33
