The reason we enjoy the sport of mixed martial arts is because at any moment a person given no chance has the opportunity to do something special. Both Rafael Dos Anjos and Joanna Jędrzejczyk came into tonight’s UFC 185 card with little expectations from the fans with a chance for victory. Not only did they meet those expectations but exceed them with dominant victories in eacg respective match. Rafael Dos Anjos won all five rounds in a clearly decisive decision in a match he controlled from the start. Joanna Jędrzejczyk lit up Carla Esparza with her pin point accuracy and neutralized her wrestling. Johny Hendricks notched a win as well tonight as he looks towards his run back at the 170 title. It was an explosive night that saw all finishes in the prelims followed by an exciting main card that crowned two new champions.

Rafael Dos Anjos(24-7) smiled from ear to ear when he received the news that he was the new number one contender. Maybe he knew something we didn’t. That it was his time to become the new champion in the lightweight division of the UFC. Anthony Pettis(18-3) took a left hand from Dos Anjos early in the fight and that caused just enough of an interruption to attack. Rafael cut off the cage and laid into the former champ with leg kick after leg kick to the body. It surely slowed down Pettis who was on the defense for most of the fight. To further prove his dominance Dos Anjos landed and astounding 9 takedowns which truly put the fight out of the reach of Showtime. It was such great performance that Joe Rogan himself was in awe of the work of the new champion. If Rafael continues to improve then we may get to see him get a rematch against his most recent loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. For tonight he will celebrate this victory and become and other great Brazilian champion in UFC history.

Many thought the wrestling of Carla Esparza (10-3) could neutralize the precise striking of Joanna Jędrzejczyk(9-0). Joanna knew the belt was hers all along and it only took her two rounds to prove it. One of the reasons why the strawweight division is one to watch is because of women like her. Both Jędrzejczyk and Esparaza are talented fighters but clearly Joanna is on another level. After her appearance on TUF house most thought Carla could provide enough work to outlast the polish fighter. Early takedown attempts by Carla gassed her early and as soon as the hands went down the true work of Joanna Jędrzejczyk took over. Over and over she landed her jab until Carla became nothing more than a  punching bag deep into the second round. Unable to score a takedown or compete on her feet the UFC crowns a new champion in the strawweight division.

If Johny Hendricks (17-3) stays on top of his diet and conditioning its no way in hell anyone will outwrestle him in the 170 division. Maybe Tyron Woodley or Ben Askren would be up to task but most of the fighters won’t be able to handle his takedowns and tonight Matt Brown(19-13)could not. Matt Brown fought in a manner we expected coming forward throwing elbows and clinching when possible. He was just no match for the strength of Hendricks who used his added muscle to execute his gameplan. All three rounds went to Hendricks easy and even though he may have not been happy with the results we feel the match went as most expected. The question will be what does the UFC do next. Is Johnny next in line or does he need to face Woodley for a true contender spot. We should know something soon as we are sure an announcement will be made after Lawler and MacDonald hook up.

The best way to neutralize the big powerful shots of Roy Nelson (20-11) is with knees and leg kicks as proved by Alistair Overeem(39-14). If not for a couple huge dropping blows by Nelson this fight would have looked completely one sided. Overeem had no problems setting up his kicks with oblique kicks and flying knees that kept landing. The overall footwork was the key to his victory as he avoided the overhand right early and annoyed Nelson constantly with his kicks to the body. It was a good victory for Alistair and if he can add in another victory he will be right there knocking on the door.

Henry Cejudo (8-0) had no issues making weight at 126 but also had no problem with the former number 1 contender Chris Cariaso(17-7). He grappled and and grinded out his was to a well fought decision and showed a skill set that can cause the champ some issues in the division. More than likely a win by John Dodson would set up an inevitable number 1 contender match for the 125 title.

The prelims saw a nothing but finishes with wins being notched by Ross Pearson, Elias Theodorou (11-0), Beneil Dariush(10-1), Jared Rosholt(12-2), Ryan Benoit(8-3), Joseph Duffy(13-1) and Germaine de Randamie(5-2). Up next for the UFC is UFC Fight Night Maia - LaFlare on Saturday March 21st. The full results from UFC 185 are listed below.

Main card

Rafael dos Anjos def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision

Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Carla Esparza via second-round TKO

Johny Hendricks def. Matt Brown via unanimous decision

Alistair Overeem def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision

Henry Cejudo def. Chris Cariaso via unanimous decision

Prelims

Ross Pearson def. Sam Stout via second-round TKO

Elias Theodorou def. Roger Narvaez via second-round TKO

Beneil Dariush def. Daron Cruickshank via submission (rear-naked choke)

Jared Rosholt def. Josh Copeland via third-round TKO

Ryan Benoit def. Sergio Pettis via second-round TKO

Joseph Duffy def. Jake Lindsey via first-round TKO

Germaine de Randamie def. Larissa Pacheco via second-round TKO

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About the author
Travis Brown
Travis has been covering the sport of mixed martial arts for the past three years. He has been a fan of combat sports all of his life and looks to bring his bettors perspective to the Vavel family. Mixed Martial Arts is a global sports and there is no better place for it than Vavel.