Johnson reaches UFC tourney final
Demetrious Johnson heard his name announced as the winner over Ian McCall once before only to have the decision victory taken away later in the evening when a scoring error was discovered.
This time, there was no confusion.
Johnson beat McCall by unanimous decision in the main event of the UFC on FX 3 card Friday night in Sunrise, Fla. The victory advances Johnson to the final of the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight tournament, where he will face Joseph Benavidez to determine the organization's first 125-pound champion.
The first Johnson-McCall fight in March was ruled a majority draw after the athletic commission in Sydney realized the error.
Johnson eliminated the controversy Friday by winning the first and third rounds on all three scorecards, mostly by using his speed to set up strikes and several takedowns. McCall's best work came in the second, but Johnson even took that round on one card.
"This time, I went back to old school and doing what I did in training for eight weeks," Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to (fighting Benavidez). Joseph's a killer. It's going to be a great fight with me and him."
Two welterweight fights ended in the first round as Las Vegan Mike Pyle knocked out Josh Neer and Erick Silva choked out Charlie Brenneman.
Also, bantamweight Eddie Wineland knocked out Scott Jorgensen in the second round.
The undercard was highlighted by the third straight loss for featherweight Leonard Garcia, who dropped a unanimous decision against Matt Grice.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.
