UFC 216 results: Full analysis, winners and reaction from Ferguson vs. Lee

Tony Ferguson is the interim UFC Lightweight Champion after a thrilling third-round finish of Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC 216 on Saturday. In addition to that, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson defended his UFC Flyweight Championship in the main event, going five rounds with Ray Borg before an incredible armbar submission finish in the final frame.

Johnson entered Saturday’s card tied with Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defenses in UFC history with 10. He has also consistently been in the discussion for best pound-for-pound fighter currently active and, to some, the best of all time.

He essentially secured that honor on Saturday, dominating Ray Borg for his 11th-consecutive defense. He held dominant position for the better part of five rounds before slamming Borg and transitioning to an armbar while slamming him to force the tap and the stoppage.

Ferguson and Lee both seemed as though they had little belief they would unify the interim belt with a bout against Conor McGregor immediately after winning prior to Saturday’s card. McGregor’s status in the UFC is up in the air after his significant payday from his boxing superfight with Floyd Mayweather.

Johnson and Borg were set to be the headliners of a previous card, but Borg had to back out of the fight for health reasons. That’s why they didn’t have top billing for UFC 216, a card that already had a title fight and a headliner. Still, Johnson was clearly the main event on Saturday.

Ferguson looked fresh and dominant in the second round against Lee, but in the third found himself taken down twice. He was losing the round when he locked in what looked to be a for-sure armbar finish, but Lee spun out of it into full guard. From there, though, Ferguson adjusted and secured a triangle for the finish.

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum was also in action on Saturday. He was originally scheduled to face Derrick Lewis, but medical issues caused Lewis to bow out. Fortunately for the card, Walt Harris stepped up and took the fight against Werdum.

That wound up being a bad choice for him, as he was very quickly submitted by Werdum in the first round. Harris was originally scheduled to face Mark Godbeer on the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card, but Godbeer was moved off the card to facilitate the new fight.

Godbeer is a striker, so Harris had an entire training camp preparing for a striker before making the decision to step up and face the most dangerous jiu-jitsu practitioner in the division just hours before the fight. It was a gutsy move, but it ended predictably.

The first main card bout saw lightweights Beneil Dariush and Evan Dunham go all out for three rounds. Dariush landed some brutal elbows in the first round, but Dunham recovered and the two had a sloppy but entertaining brawl for the final round. We scored the bout for Dunham, 29-28, but the judges saw it differently, going 29-28 Dariush, 28-28, 28-28 for a majority draw.

Mara Romero Borella made her UFC debut in the women’s flyweight division on Saturday, and she looked incredible. She improved to 6-0 as a pro after submitting her opponent, Kalinda Faria, with a rear-naked choke in the first round. Borella secured a takedown and took the mount position within seconds of the fight starting, and from there it was only a matter of time before she forced Faria to tap.

On the undercard, there were two fairly significant matchups worth highlight. The first was a huge knockout of Magomed Bibulatov by John Moraga in the flyweight division. The second was one of the best fights of the year between lightweights Bobby Green and Lando Vannata. They went a full three rounds and fought to a draw. They’ll likely be fighting each other again.

Below are the round-by-round recaps from the live results on Saturday, as well as a full list of results from UFC 216.

Round 1: Lee lands a nice body kick and connects with a big right straight as Ferguson goes left, and misses. Ferguson lands a nice leg kick that trips Lee briefly. Good, quick jab by Ferguson. Lee connects with a big right hand that drops Ferguson briefly. Lee swarms, but eats a big counter from Ferguson that stops his momentum. Good left hand from Lee. Lee shoots for an explosive takedown and they scramble, both on their sides. Lee gets on top and Ferguson tries to control him with rubber guard. Lee transitions out of it though and gets side control, landing some big knees to the body. Ferguson lets go of Lee’s arm, and Lee ends up in full guard. After some positional fighting, Lee gets to full mount and starts wailing on Ferguson. He lands some huge shots from the top, but the round comes to an end before Lee can finish the fight. Lee throws a shot well after the round that should cost him a point, but Herb Dean gives him a warning instead.

Round 2: They slow things down in the second round, at least initially. Lee lands a nice kick to the body, but trips. Lee shoots for a takedown but Ferguson sprawls out of it and lands a nice leg kick. Right straight from Ferguson lands over the top. Right jab from Ferguson. Left undercut. Straight standing elbow from Ferguson lands well. Lee is having trouble getting through Ferguson’s guard. They’re both talking trash. Ferguson is trying to get Lee to come forward. Lee lands a nice kick to the body. Lee is looking a little gassed as the round comes to an end.

Round 3: Ferguson is warned about the takedown between rings. Lee secures the takedown at the start of the round, but he can’t keep it. They scramble for position and Ferguson gets back to his feet with 3:30 to go in the round. Ferguson looks fresh, but Lee looks gassed. Ferguson is talking trash but despite being the fresher fighter, he’s walking right into shots. He eats a couple jabs, and Lee secures another takedown. Ferguson secures what looks like a for-sure armbar, but Lee spins out of it and steps over into full guard. It’s an incredible move from Lee, but he remains passive and Ferguson gets his legs around to lock in a triangle. He gets the triangle deep and Lee is forced to tap! Lee was probably winning that round, but now he’s lost the fight.

Round 1: They take the center of the octagon. Johnson throws a few quick leg kicks, and just misses with a left head kick about a minute in. Borg comes forward with a right straight, but doesn’t land. He also throws a big right uppercut that just misses. They scramble, and Johnson tries to get on Borg’s back. Borg gets back to his feet though. Johnson lands a nice body kick as Borg tries to secure a takedown. Borg is going for a single leg, but Johnson gets out of it and he gets Borg up against the fence. He lays on him and gets him down onto the mat. Johnson is trying to pass to side control, and he lands a couple nice elbows. Borg is trying for a guillotine and Johnson passes to side control, working a kimura attempt. The round comes to an end.

Round 2: Borg comes out aggressive, and he gets Johnson pressed against the fence. He set it up with a fake jumping knee. Johnson manages to turn him around though and gets Borg up against the fence. They scramble and Borg jumps on Johnson’s back. Johnson, though, gives a thumbs up, and shakes Borg off his back. He then got on top in half guard with a little under three minutes to go. Johnson doesn’t get much done in the striking department, but he works a dominant position for the rest of the round, landing a few strong elbows here and there.

Round 3: Johnson quickly secures a takedown to open the third round, and passes to side control. He wants to secure a submission and tries to work a crucifix position. Borg defends it though, and Johnson delivers a big knee to the body. Borg eventually gets back to full guard as Johnson tries to gain mount but can’t quite land it. Johnson gets Borg’s back with about a minute to go in the round. He wants the rear-naked choke but he’s running out of time to do it. Borg powers out of the position, but ends up on his back again with Johnson halfway between half guard and side control. Borg gets up and Johnson takes him down again. Borg tries for a guillotine submission, but Johnson is fine and the round comes to an end.

Round 4: Shocker: This time Borg comes out and secures a fast takedown of Johnson. But Johnson quickly gets back to his feet. Borg hangs onto the single in hopes of dragging him down again, but he can’t get it. Johnson ends up back on top and he rains down a huge right elbow and opens up a cut on Borg’s face. Borg gets to his feet but Johnson hangs onto him against the fence. Another takedown from Johnson and Borg’s head hit the mat hard. Johnson wants to get into the mount position, but can’t make the transition. Still, it’s another dominant round.

Round 5: Borg comes out aggressive, knowing he’s down four rounds. Johnson ducks the first shot, picks up Borg and slams him down right into side control. Johnson finally makes the pass to full mount with three minuets to go. Borg scrambles and gets out of it, but Johnson is back on top of him, delivering a knee to the body. They scramble again and Johnson flips into an armbar that is DEEP. Borg tries to fight it off and it looks like Johnson might break it. After several seconds, Borg taps and Johnson gets the finish.

Round 1: Werdum throws a big head kick at the start of the bout, but it misses. Harris comes forward and Werdum grabs a single leg. Harris trained to face a striker for this bout, but instead he’s facing one of the most dangerous submission artists in the world. Werdum gets the takedown. Harris scrambles and it looks like he’s going to get to his feet, but Werdum quickly grabs an arm and rolls into an armbar. Harris immediately taps and this one is over.

Round 1: Borella secures a takedown and takes full mount almost immediately in the fight. Faria is holding her head down to prevent her from posturing up. Faria tries to inch toward the fence to work her way up, but Borella basically pushes the both of them a full foot forward away from the fence, while maintaining mount. Two minutes of this and Borella still hasn’t landed anything significant, but she’s biding her time. Faria gives up her back and Borella tries to flatten her out. Borella hooks the body triangle and has more than two minutes to work the rear-naked choke. Faria taps rather than sleeps, and Borella wins her UFC debut.

Round 1: Dariush just misses with a bit uppercut after about a minute of the two gauging distance and feeling each other out. Dariush lands a nice fade-away left hand but Dunham shakes it off. They clinch up briefly against the fence and Dariush throws a brutal elbow to the side of the head. It hurts Dunham. Dariush throws and lands another serious elbow and Dunham goes down. Dariush gets on top but Dunham recovers slightly. Dariush stay on top of him, trying to work to a mount position. Not a lot happens for the next minute, Dariush isn’t sure what he wants to do, it seems. Dunham tries for a leg lock, but Dariush moves into side control, and delivers some good ground-and-pound. They get back to their feet and the round comes to an end.

Round 2: Dariush attempts a knee to the body, but Dunham catches him and secures a takedown. Dariush gets Dunham in something like a rubber guard, but not fully locked in. Dariush tried to secure an arm lock, but Dunham gets up and out of it. They clinch against the fence, but nothing significant lands. Dunham controls the positioning, and they separate. Dunham lands a nice right hook over the top, and circles away from the powerful left of Dariush. Nothing big lands in this round. It’s probably Dunham’s round.

Round 3: Dunham goes over the top with a straight right that misses, but then lands a leg kick followed by a high kick that lands as a glancing blow. Dariush is trying to land the big left. Dunham moves away from it and connects with another right hook. Good jab combo from Dunham connects. Dunham shoots for a double-leg, and ends up with Dariush up against the fence. They separate after about a minute. Dariush lands a nice leg kick, and a stiff left jab. Dunham lands a right straight and Dariush connects with a stiff left counter. Another big shot from Dariush. Dunham taunts Dariush and comes forward, winging wild hooks, only one of which glances off. Dariush is firmly out of gas. They swing wildly as the fight comes to an end. It should be Dunham’s fight, 29-28.

Our score: Dariush 10-9, Dunham 10-9, Dunham 10-9 — Dunham 29-28

Main Card

Lightweight: Tony Ferguson def. Kevin Lee via submission (triangle choke) at 4:02 of Round 3
Flyweight: Demetrious Johnson def. Ray Borg via submission (armbar) at 3:15 of Round 5
Heavyweight: Fabricio Werdum def. Walt Harris via submission (armbar) at 1:05 of Round 1
Women’s Flyweight: Mara Romero Borella def. Kalindra Faria via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:54 of Round 1
Lightweight: Beneil Dariush vs. Evan Dunham is a majority draw (29-28 Dariush, 28-28, 28-28)

Preliminary Card

Bantamweight: Cody Stamann def. Tom Duquesnoy via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
Lightweight: Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata is a draw (29-27, 27-29, 28-28)
Women’s Strawweight: Poliana Botelho def. Pearl Gonzalez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Flyweight: Matt Schnell def. Marco Beltrán via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Flyweight: John Moraga def. Magomed Bibulatov via KO (punch) at 1:38 of Round 1
Middleweight: Brad Tavares def. Thales Leites via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)