Twitter Reacts To Submission-Packed UFC 216

ByJosh Stillman
USATSI 10334367 168382968 lowres

UFC 216 went down tonight (Saturday, October 7, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The night was headlined by a championship doubleheader as Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee vied for the interim lightweight strap and Demetrious Johnson sought to make history with his record eleventh-straight title defense against Ray Borg. Both fights provided scintillating finishes.

Ferguson dropped the first round as he struggled to find his rhythm. Lee had no such trouble, tagging “El Cucuy“, taking him down, and landing solid shots on the mat. Ferguson seemed to start taking back the momentum in round two from a tiring Lee, landing better shots on the feet and staving off Lee’s grappling advances.

In the third, Lee was once again able to take Ferguson down but quickly found himself in trouble. Ferguson slapped on an armbar that looked extremely tight, but Lee stepped over and escaped. But Ferguson snared him in a triangle a few moments later, and there would be no escape for Lee this time, who nearly went out before being rescued by the referee. The win marked Ferguson’s tenth straight at lightweight, extending his own division-best streak.

Johnson made history in the co-main event, and he did it with style points. His fight with the 24-year-old Borg became increasingly more one-sided as it deepened. Borg is a phenomenal athlete and scrambler, but that also happens to be where DJ is perhaps the best ever. Johnson reversed takedown after takedown from the challenger and applied unceasing pressure from top position. Whenever Borg managed to get back to his feet, Johnson would drag him back down and resume his assault.

In the fifth, well ahead on the scorecards with multiple 10-8 rounds possibly already banked, Johnson finally went for the kill. He hit a belly-to-back suplex and transitioned to an armbar while Borg was still in the air. He latched onto the arm, stepped across Borg’s face, and extended the arm, eliciting the tap after a brief struggle. It was one of the most impressive finishes in MMA history and cemented DJ as one of the best ever.

See how Twitter reacted to these wild finishes below:

https://twitter.com/mikedyce/status/916885687793831936

https://twitter.com/BrianStann/status/916886073300652033

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https://twitter.com/ZPGIFs/status/916886079906643968

https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/916886416935866368

https://twitter.com/SecretMovesMMA/status/916867482379530245

https://twitter.com/iainkidd/status/916869085283184640

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Wyman/status/916871413025316865

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/916877776707137536

https://twitter.com/Jonnyboy_6969/status/916877574088941568

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Josh found MMA in 2009 and has been an increasingly voracious consumer of the sport ever since. He started writing in January 2016, first as a blogger and then as a writer for LowKickMMA. He produces historical list pieces, occasional news coverage, opinions, and fight analysis for LK. He also co-hosts the Daily Fantasy Knockout podcast.

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