UFC Fight Night 184 results: Clay Guida outworks Michael Johnson for unanimous decision

Clay Guidamade his UFC debut at UFC 64 in 2006. Michael Johnson’s debut was at the Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale in 2010.

Somehow, it took all this time for these two enduring competitors to meet in the cage. The veteran lightweights squared off Saturday night on the main card of UFC Fight Night 184, and it was a bout worth the wait.

After 15 minutes of solid action, Guida (35-20 MMA, 15-14 UFC) earned scores of 30-27 across the board for a unanimous decision victory at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, in a bout more competitive than the score would seem to indicate.

“Michael Johnson is a a gamer, he hits like a truck.” Guida said. “It felt good to get my hand raised finally.”

The fight started as a fast pace, as Guida implemented his trademark unorthodox movement and looping right hands to set up his takedown attempts. Johnson (19-16 MMA, 11-12 UFC) still has fast hands and did his best to parry Guida with counter combos. He also cut Guida open with a head kick. But Guida pressed on and eventually took things to the mat.

He was successful there, but the second round was the fight’s closest, as Johnson did a better job of defending the takedowns, and in scrambling back to his feet when Guida did manage to haul him to the mat.

While Johnson’s defense improved in the second, he still never really managed to get off any sustained offense in the round. Guida seemed to sense this and picked up the pace in the third. After scoring another takedown, Guida got Johnson’s back on the mat, and put his foe in a spot in which he needed to defend submission attempts when he needed a finish of his own. The clock wound down and Guida secured his win.

With his 15th career decision win, Guida is now 2-2 in his past four fights. Johnson has dropped four in a row.

The lightweight bout was part of the UFC Fight Night 184 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 184 results:

• Clay Guida def. Michael Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alexandre Pantoja def. Manel Kape via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Beneil Dariush def. Diego Ferreira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Danilo Marques def. Mike Rodriguez via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:52
• Devonte Smith def. Justin Jaynes via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) – Round 2, 3:38
• Karol Rosa def. Joselyne Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Lara Procopio def. Molly McCann via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Seungwoo Choi def. Youssef Zalal via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Timur Valiev def. Martin Day via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-26)
• Ode Osbourne def. Jerome Rivera via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:26