It almost looked like it was a bad match up.
Chris Cariaso presented no threat to flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson.
Since the first moment of the fight, the champion imposed his game and his name to punish the contender and show the crowd that it was not likely that the belt would change hands.
After being saved by the bell at the end of round 1, when Johnson landed a right overhand followed by a knee to the chin, round 2 was more of the same and Johnson took the fight to the ground to pass and finish Cariaso with a kimura.
“My corner says that sometimes I’m too patient, but I felt good in the fight. Cariaso was tough opponent,” said a polite champion.
In the co-main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone gave a bitter welcome to newcomer to the UFC, Eddie Alvarez.
After a scare in the first round, when Alvarez landed a series of punches that made Cerrone dizzy, the Cowboy came back big in rounds 2 and 3.
A series of powerful leg kicks to Alvarez’ left leg made enough damage to slow him and grant Cerrone the UD win.
“I”m a slow starter! If you’re gonna try to beat me, you better do it in the first round,” joked Cerrone.
Another highlight of the night was the grudge match between Connor McGregor and Justin Poirier.
McGregor spent weeks teasing Poirier and stood up to his words after the bell went off.
In less than two minutes, he planted Poirier and ended the match win a convincing TKO win!
“It’s a whole different ball game when I hit this lightweights. Now, I want Aldo vs. McGregor,”said Connor.
At the 185lb division, Yoel Romero and Tim Kennedy had an epic fight.
After almost being knocked out at the very end of round 2, Yoel Romero had the help of his corner men, who left the stool inside the octagon and earned him some extra 30s to recover.
When the third round came, Romero landed big punches to put Kennedy on the ground and win among boos and cheers.
In the first fight of the main card, Cat Zingano returned to the octagon after over one year away and recoverd from a loosing first round to beat Amanda Nunes.
The last fight of the prelims was also a highlight, with former 135lb champion Doiminick Cruz back after almost four years away.
Cruz had no trouble to destroy Takeya Mizugaki in one minute.
“I had some tough moments and it’s great to be back,” said Cruz.
Here are the full results
UFC 178: Johnson vs. Cariaso
MGM Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Main Card (on Pay-Per-View) – 10PM/7PM ET/PT
Demetrious Johnson defeated Chris Cariaso via submission (kimura) at 2:29 of Rd2
Donald Cerrone defeated Eddie Alvarez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Conor McGregor defeated Dustin Poirier via TKO (punches) at 1:46 of Rd1
Yoel Romero defeated Tim Kennedy via TKO (punches) 0:58 of R3
Cat Zingano defeated Amanda Nunes via TKO (Punches) 1:21 of R3
Preliminary Card (on Fox Sports 1)
Dominick Cruz defeated Takeya Mizugaki via TKO at 1:01 of R1
Jorge Masvidal defeated James Krause via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Stephen Thompson defeated Patrick Cote via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Brian Ebersole defeated John Howard via unanimous decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card (on Fight Pass)
Kevin Lee defeated Jon Tuck via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Manny Gamburyan defeated Cody Gibson via submission (guillotine) at 4:56 of R2
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