Demetrious Johnson defeats John Dodson for 7th title defense

LAS VEGAS -- In a rematch of his most difficult title defense to date, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson made it look relatively easy against John Dodson the second time around.

Johnson (23-2-1) defended his 125-pound title for the seventh consecutive time Saturday night, outpointing Dodson in a five-round unanimous decision at UFC 191 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena. All three judges scored the fight for Johnson: 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.

It was the second meeting between the two, and it produced the same result. Johnson, who fights out of Kirkland, Washington, defeated Dodson (17-7) via decision in his first title defense in January 2013.

The win moves Johnson into a tie for fourth-place all time in consecutive title defenses. Former middleweight champion Anderson Silva holds the current record with 10.

"John Dodson was saying I was garbage, but look at my face," Johnson said. "I look as pretty as a m-----f-----. That's what technique gets you right there."

Unlike the first encounter, in which Dodson dropped Johnson with a left hand in the second round, the rematch was devoid of drama. Johnson, 29, had Dodson guessing throughout. Johnson converted only four of 16 takedown attempts, but even the unsuccessful shots served a purpose. He gradually sapped Dodson's gas tank, just as he did in their previous fight, and seamlessly chained together punches and single-leg attempts.

Dodson was never close to being finished, but he was never a threat either. Johnson threw nearly 100 more strikes than Dodson and outlanded him 186 to 111, according to Fightmetric.

"The last time we fought, I was trying to get to him too much," Johnson said. "This time, 25 minutes, I wanted to take my time. At one point I got poked in the eye. I wanted to keep it clean and say, 'Let's be technical in this fight.'"

Dodson gave credit to Johnson for the win.

"I had more success in the first fight because both of us were going in not knowing what each other's strengths were," he said. "This time, he went in more cautious, more intelligent. I was trying to defend takedowns. He was trying to push pace. DJ did a wonderful job. He came after me. Hat's off to him. I can't sit here and badmouth him. The man's a champion."

Saturday's fight marked the first time Johnson failed to finish an opponent since June 2014, when Ali Bagautinov managed to take him the distance. It was later revealed that Bagautinov tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) before that contest.

Johnson, who remains unbeaten since he dropped to the 125-pound division in 2012, was outstanding inside the clinch, as usual. He went to work on Dodson's body with knees and constantly threatened a takedown. Dodson, a power puncher with eight career knockouts, struggled to keep his back away from the fence. His best strikes of the fight were arguably a pair of kicks to the body, which Johnson absorbed well.

Dodson's best work came in the second round, when he was able to throw Johnson to the floor as he threw a knee. Dodson was also able to turn Johnson into the fence and throw his own knee strikes from the clinch, which was an extremely rare sight.

Other than those very small windows, however, Johnson was in control. He continually got into Dodson's lead leg with takedown attempts, forcing Dodson to hop on one foot as he ate short punches. The lead right hand turned into an effective weapon for Johnson as well. In the fourth, as Dodson took time to wipe at his eye, Johnson connected with a clean right, one of the hardest punches of the night.

In the fifth round, Johnson picked Dodson off the floor and slammed him. Each time, Dodson hopped immediately back to his feet, but he was never able to respond with offense.

Johnson, who is trained by Matt Hume, has expressed interest in next fighting against Henry Cejudo (9-0), an Olympic gold medalist in wrestling. Cejudo is scheduled to fight Jussier da Silva at UFC Fight Night on Nov. 21.

Dodson, who trains out of Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico, suffered his first defeat since the decision loss to Johnson in 2013.

UFC 191 had an announced crowd of 10,873 and drew a gate total of $1,367,000.