All good things must come to an end. On Saturday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the UFC on FOX era closed out. UFC Milwaukee was the final bow seven years after the MMA powerhouse debuted on network television. At the time, it was a landmark deal. The UFC had arrived, its initials synonymous with the sport of mixed martial arts. Few would have guessed that years later, despite flagging ratings, the promotion would sell for north of four billion dollars. That it would jump to ESPN after UFC on FOX 31, the last hurrah on a network that had brought MMA to the mainstream.

Yet before the FOX card got underway, a pair of early preliminary fights aired exclusively on UFC Fight Pass ahead of UFC on FOX 31. Heavyweight prospect Juan Adams was paired up against Chris De La Rocha, who had returned from layoff earlier this year to defeat Rashad Coulter. It was De La Rocha’s first UFC win, despite joining the promotion in 2015. Now 1-2, he was looking to pull to an even .500 against the promising Adams.

Adam Milstead, meanwhile, was giving light heavyweight another try against Mike Rodriguez. Milstead had started his UFC tenure at heavyweight, but after a loss to Curtis Blaydes (later overturned to a no contest), he dropped down to 205lbs against Jordan Johnson. Suffering a defeat in his light heavyweight debut, he was in desperate need of a win against Rodriguez.

Juan Adams vs. Chris De La Rocha

Heavyweight action kicked off the UFC Milwaukee card, and early on, Juan Adams was touching Chris De La Rocha with his jab. De La Rocha was cut early, but still fired back. Adams mixed things up with a leg kick, then another, which De La Rocha felt compelled to answer. A heavy right by De La Rocha had Adams ducking under, scoring a takedown and forcing his opponent onto his back after a scramble. Adams then went to work with some nasty ground and pound, specifically elbows that were certainly having an effect. De La Rocha would work his way to his feet, but gave up his back, allowing Adams to take him back down. Another scramble, a sweep, and De La Roche tried to isolate a leg, only to open himself up to further damage.

All that action, however, ensured that Chris De La Rocha survived the round. And in trhe second, he came out swinging. Adams returned fire, but soon wound up on his back ever so briefly off a messy takedown attempt. Adams wound up with his back to the fence, and the two fired off some heavy punches in a space roughly the size of a small closet. Eventually, Adams reversed, and landing some knees, but after a brief stall, the ref restarted them in the middle. De La Rocha took a step back, winded, but began walking Adams down, tagging him several times. Both men were breathing headed. De La Rocha’s face was a mask of blood. Adams then managed to pull De La Rocha down from a guillotine position. Adams would land more in the way of ground and pound, but the bell sounded.

Round three saw a body kick by Adams answered by a short punch from De La Rocha. Adams, however, turned up the pace, landing a right, a big knee to the body and forcing his opponent to the fence. There, he fired off a flurry of heavy punches. De La Rocha refused to go down but the ref waved it off!

Juan Adams def. Chris De La Rocha by TKO, Round 3, 0:58

Adam Milstead vs. Mike Rodriguez

Rodriguez and Milstead immediately went toe-to-toe, trading. Rodriguez scored a knockdown within 90 seconds, and pounced on his opponent, moving into guard. Milstead control the posture initially but ate a heavy elbow. Milstead tried to scramble up, but couldn’t escape. Eventually, Milstead would wall-walk up, but a leg kick would take his legs out from under him. Rodriguez continued to attack as Milstead got back up, driving his opponent into the fence. A knee to the body then connected for Rodriguez, and Milstead went down, covering up! That was all she wrote, as the blow had landed to the liver, and Milstead’s body simply froze up.

After the bout, Milstead left his gloves in the octagon, apparently signalling the end to his professional fighting career.

Mike Rodriguez def. Adam Milstead by knockout, Round 1, 2:59

Check back come fight time, 3:30PM EST, for results and a full recap of the night’s action!

UFC Milwaukee Fight Pass Preliminary Card Results:

Mike Rodriguez def. Adam Milstead by knockout, Round 1, 2:59
Juan Adams def. Chris De La Rocha by TKO, Round 3, 0:58

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Jordan Johnson and Adam Milstead throw down at light heavyweight, Bryan Caraway returns against promising bantamweight Cody Stamann, and Mike Pyle will ride off into the sunset against Zak Ottow. All three of these fights take place at 6:30 p.m. EST on UFC Fight Pass to kick off UFC 222.

Mike Pyle’s career has not ended gracefully, losing four of his last five fights including three knockout losses. The one win was a surprising upset knockout against Sean Spencer which earned a Fight of the Night award. Zak Ottow has split his four UFC appearances, going to a split decision in the first three. Prior to signing with the UFC, Ottow had 10 submission victories and had finished 12 of his 13 career victories.

Cody Stamann is a promising bantamweight with a 16-1 record, including a win over hyped prospect Tom Duquesnoy. Bryan Caraway currently resides at seventh in the bantamweight rankings, and has been falling due to inactivity. Caraway has fought and won twice since 2015, and even had a top-five ranking before pulling out of two scheduled bouts.

To kick things off, Adam Milstead moves down to light heavyweight to battle Jordan Johnson. Milstead has finished all eight of his career victories, and is 1-1 in the UFC. However, the loss to Curtis Blaydes was overturned after Blaydes tested positive for marijuana. Having overcome the knee injury suffered in his last bout, Milstead is ready to bounce back at UFC 222. Johnson is an undefeated wrestler from the University of Iowa. Johnson is 8-0 with two wins inside the Octagon.

Below will be recaps of each fight, so keep checking in to see the results!

Jordan Johnson vs. Adam Milstead

Milstead popped a jab to start the fight, and followed with a combination. Johnson attempted to throw back but wasn’t finding success. Milstead swung heavy hands at Johnson, but none landed truly clean. Milstead waited for a Johnson jab and landed a nice pair of right hands to counter.

Johnson shot for a takedown but Milstead quickly bucked him off. Johnson went right back in got Milstead against the cage this time. However, Johnson was unable to bring Milstead to the ground. After taking some damage to the lower legs, Milstead exited with a hard elbow. Johnson went back in and held him against the cage for the remainder of the round.

Johnson started the second round with a stiff jab. Johnson looked much better on the feet in the second frame, mixing in body shots. Milstead lost his balance temporarily, and Johnson took advantage by pushing him to the fence. Milstead had the strength to resist the takedowns of Johnson, including a single leg attempt. Milstead threw a trio of punches behind the ear of Johnson and the fighters were broken up shortly after.

Johnson was caught on the feet, but he rushed in and got a takedown, taking the back of Milstead. Milstead was able to stand and Johnson kept him pressed against the cage until a referee separation. Johnson landed a jab and the round ended shortly after.

An exchange of hooks started round three, then Johnson shot for a takedown and Milstead threw him off quickly. Milstead was going for the kill, but Johnson was defending well, shooting for a takedown again which was unsuccessful. An overhand right landed for Milstead, then he was caught with a check left hand.

Johnson threw a jab then drove Milstead across the Octagon with a deep single that led to a takedown. Milstead was able to eventually stand, and landed heavy shots as Johnson clinched him against the cage. With little time left, Milstead separated and threw some more haymakers to end the fight.

Jordan Johnson def. Adam Milstead by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 27-30)

Bryan Caraway vs. Cody Stamann

Caraway went in with a combination after a tentative start to the contest, then shot for a takedown and somehow didn’t bring him down with a deep single. Stamann landed a hard right hand, but Caraway was right back in on the takedown effort.

Stamann separated and pushed the pace, but Caraway used his aggression to land a takedown. Caraway fought through the butterfly guard of Stamann. Caraway pinned an arm down with his leg after stepping over the head of Stamann, then attempted an armbar as time expired.

Stamann was popping Caraway on the feet to start the second round. Caraway dove in for a takedown but it was stuffed by his opponent. Caraway landed a jab and then a few clinch uppercuts. Stamann stuffed a takedown then landed a hard hook.

Caraway got on the offensive again, limiting the space of Stamann. Caraway was unsuccessful with a takedown, and Stamann made him pay with a hook and a two-punch combination. Caraway kept going for takedowns to end the round, but nothing came to fruition for Caraway.

Caraway started the third round with a few kicks, and Stamann started to turn it up. The hooks kept coming from Stamann as Caraway attempted to answer with leg kicks. Caraway was able to push Stamann against the cage, but Stamann escaped after about a minute of control.

A sneaky left landed for Caraway, then a weak takedown effort. Stamann was landing with consistency, so Caraway just pushed forward with no regard for defense. Both men were connecting and Caraway shot for a pair of takedowns that failed. Caraway and Stamann both landed heavy from the clinch, and Stamann shot for his first takedown with little time remaining. Caraway attempted a guillotine and rolled him over but could not get the tap as time expired.

Cody Stamann def. Bryan Caraway by Split Decision (29-28 x2, 28-29)

Mike Pyle vs. Zak Ottow

Zak Ottow moved in quickly with a few hooks, then a spinning back kick. Ottow was consistent with the jab, and began mixing in low kicks. Pyle landed a body kick and Ottow stayed on him. Ottow landed a low kick and landed a hard right that knocked down the veteran as Pyle was coming in. Ottow dove in and landed a barrage of punches on the ground, forcing the referee to call off the fight.

Zak Ottow def. Mike Pyle by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (2:34)

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The UFC light heavyweight division is less than stellar right now. Sure, Daniel Cormier is the champ and Alexander Gustafsson is the number-one contender but after that its slim pickings at 205-pounds.

There are a couple of guys inside the top 15 that could make it interesting in the near future. Fighters like Tyson Pedro & Gadzhimurad Antigulov, assuming they continue to progress.

But if you ask me, one of the most intriguing prospects in the light heavyweight division is Jordan ‘Big Swingin’ Johnson. Cageside Press sat down with Johnson to talk about his fight at UFC 222, becoming a father, and more.

The undefeated Johnson is coming off an impressive victory over an equally tough Marcel Fortuna at The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale back in July of last year. No doubt double-J did enough to earn a unanimous decision on that night but he had mixed feelings about his overall performance.

“I kept the fight standing. I’ve been working on my stand up quite a bit. I think I won the fight, but I didn’t dominate him, I didn’t destroy him, I didn’t beat his ass the way I wanted to, but I won the fight.”

Johnson has received his share of criticism for his grappling-centric style of fighting. Personally, I enjoy that hardnosed Ben Askren, Chael Sonnen type. I may be in the minority, but I find Johnson’s style exciting and a real challenge for guys to figure out.

“I don’t hear my fighting style is exciting very often,” Johnson joked. “Some people think my style is boring but I’m working hard on my stand up every day.”

No doubt Johnson’s stand up is improving with every outing, but his wrestling is and always will be his bread and butter.

Perhaps Johnson’s aggressive grappling style was forged inside the walls of the MMA Lab where he first started training mixed martial arts with the likes of Benson Henderson, Bryan Barberena, Drakkar Klose, and head coach John Crouch. Nowadays, however, you can find ‘Big Swingin’ putting work in at Victory MMA in Point Loma, California. “Yes, Victory [MMA] is my home now,” Johnson said.

“Sometimes I cross train, the other day I went and worked out at Alliance but it’s not very often I do that anymore, my home is here at Victory.”

It sounds as if Johnson has found a camp that can help him reach the next level in the UFC, and on the personal side of things, Johnson is set to become a father for the first time in mere days. “I’m so excited,” said Johnson who has since given birth to a healthy baby boy. “I’m ready for the responsibility of being a parent, I’ve already got the dad bod now I’ll be a dad.”

Johnson is also looking forward to UFC 222 where he will be fighting a much larger Adam Milstead, “I can’t wait to beat his ass and knock him out,” Johnson said. “I figured for this fight I wanted to find someone who I could just beat the s**t out of, which is Adam. So that was the fight I wanted and then he kept pushing the date back. He just doesn’t want to fight me, that’s what that was.”

Johnson added, “I’m going to make his ass beating even worse for all the bullshit with the date. He thinks he’s a boxer, he thinks he is good, this is a guy where I can stand right in front of him and sleep him.”

Milstead presents an interesting challenge for the undefeated Johnson, can ‘Big Swingin’ use his wrestling to nullify Milstead’s size or is Johnson going to do exactly what he says, stand right in front of the bigger man and shut his lights off?

UFC 222 takes place this weekend live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnson vs. Milstead is slated to kick off the action on the early Fight Pass Prelims.

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