Cormier defends title over Gustafsson, Bader tops Evans at UFC 192

Daniel Cormier top Alexander Gustafsson to retain UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 192. Photo: Matt Erickson.

HOUSTON – On a night when wrestling was front and center at UFC 192, two-time Olympian Daniel Cormier delivered.


Cormier successfully defended his UFC light heavyweight title, earning a split decision victory over stout opponent, Alexander Gustafsson, extending his overall mma record to 17-1-0 in front of a raucous crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.


“Alexander Gustafsson, you made me a better fighter tonight. I will forever be indebted to you and your performance tonight,” Cormier said. “I expected that. That Alexander Gustafsson. That Warrior. And a guy that I left part of myself in the octagon with tonight.”


Early in the first round Cormier executed a spectacular single leg takedown and was able to work his ground and pound for a large majority of the round.


After trading blows in round two, Cormier came out strong again in the third, but was momentarily stunned and dropped by a Gustafsson knee to the head. Cormier was able to recover and both men headed into the championship rounds with plenty left to prove.


Cormier controlled the center of the octagon in rounds four and five and was able to land key strikes from the clinch to grind down a seemingly fearless Gustafsson en route to another landmark UFC victory.


“I just wanted to prove that I’m not one dimensional. I can stand with the best strikers in the world and Alex hit me with some good shots,” Cormier said. “Every time I hit him with [my underhooks] I felt him stop. He stopped punching. He stopped moving. He just started holding on to me. When you can make a striker start trying to wrestle you, and you’re the wrestler, you’re doing a good job.”


The win adds another impressive credential to Cormier’s legacy. On top of his two Olympic appearances, he won a World bronze medal in freestyle wrestling in 2007, was a NCAA finalist for Oklahoma State University in 2001 and was a two-time JUCO National champion for Colby Community College in 1998 and 1998.


Two-time NCAA All-American for Arizona State, Ryan Bader, notched the biggest win of his UFC career, topping past UFC champion Rashad Evans by unanimous decision in the Co-Main Event of the evening.


It was Evans controlling the center of the octagon for the majority of the fight, but the two-time NCAA qualifier for Michigan State could not overcome a calculated performance from Bader, who scored three crucial takedowns throughout.


“I made up my mind that I’m going to come in here and be the best and you’re seeing that right now. My takedowns and putting my hands together, that’s what works for me,” said Bader.


In addition to his fourth and seventh place finishes at the NCAA DI Championships, Bader won three Pac-10 titles.


Bader now owns a 21-4-0 overall record in mma and has won five straight in the UFC. He is currently tied with the second most all-time wins in the UFC light heavyweight division with 13.


Evans made his first UFC appearance in nearly two years in the losing effort on Saturday night. He was a NJCAA champion for Niagara County Community College in 2000. His most notable Division I win came over three-time NCAA champion Greg Jones of West Virginia in the consolations of the 2003 NCAA Championships.


Top UFC flyweight division contender Joseph Benavidez emerged victorious over world class Russian, No. 14 Ali Bagautinov, by unanimous decision at 125 pounds.


Benavidez suffered a sizable cut above his left eye in the first round, but would keep consistent forward pressure from the standup throughout the fight to secure the victory and move his record to 23-4-0.


In 2000, Benavidez won a State championship in wrestling at 103 pounds in New Mexico for Las Cruces High School as a sophomore. He also wrestled in college for one year at William Penn University before making the transition to mma full-time.


Russian heavyweight Ruslan Magomedov implemented a patient and tactical approach to take out Shawn Jordan at 265 pounds, improving his record to 14-1-0.


Jordan scored a takedown in the opening round, controlling the pace, but Magomedov countered in rounds two and three with several lethal leg kicks to the head, crippling Jordan’s attacks.


Jordan was a two-time Texas State champion in wrestling and played Division I football at Louisiana State University where he was a member of two NCAA championship teams in 2003 and 2007.


In the opening bout on the Pay-Per-View card, No. 12 Julianna Pena utilized a strong wrestling background to defeat No. 6 Jessica Eye by unanimous decision at 135 pounds.


Following a competitive first round momentum moved to Pena’s corner midway through the second when Eye was deducted one point for an illegal knee to head of a downed opponent. Pena owned the third round, spending the majority of the round in the top position.


The Ultimate Fighter season 18 winner, Pena, improved her overall mma record to 8-2-0.


Two-time NCAA champion for Oklahoma State and past UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks was slated to face past University of Missouri wrestler Tyron Woodley at UFC 192, but Hendricks was unable to make weight for medical reasons.

UFC 192 Results

Main Event

205 lbs. Championship – (C) Daniel Cormier def. No. 2 Alexander Gustafsson, Split Decision

Co-Main Event

205 lbs. – No. 4 Ryan Bader def. No. 5 Rashad Evans, Unanimous Decision

Main Card

265 lbs. – Ruslan Magomedov def. Shawn Jordan, Unanimous Decision

125 lbs. – No. 1 Joseph Benavidez def. No. 14 Ali Bagautinov, Unanimous Decision

135 lbs. – No. 12 Juliana Pena def. No. 6 Jessica Eye, Unanimous Decision

Undercard

145 lbs. – Yair Rodriguez def. Dan Hooker, Unanimous Decision

170 lbs. – Albert Tumenov def. Alan Jouban, KO Round 1 (2:55)

155 lbs. – Adriano Martins def. Islam Makhachev, KO Round 1 (1:46)

115 lbs. – No. 4 Rose Namajunas def. Angela Hill, Submission Round 1 (2:47)

155 lbs. – Sage Northcutt def. Francisco Trevino, TKO Round 1 (0:57)

125 lbs. – Sergio Pettis def. No. 10 Chris Cariaso, Unanimous Decision

265 lbs. – Derrick Lewis def. Viktor Pesta, TKO Round 3 (1:15)