Jamie Mullarkey knew he was in for a tough night at the office but he still got the job done in a back-and-forth war with Michael Johnson at UFC Vegas 58.
The fight saw both men knocked to the canvas and wobbled multiple times but Mullarkey was able to do enough damage to eke out a split decision with two judges giving him the fight with 29-28 scores while the third official gave the fight to Johnson with the same 29-28 scorecard in his favor.
” Just give it up to Michael Johnson, an OG of the sport,” Mullarkey stated afterwards. “I had to dig deep for that one. He would be my partner in the fight. This was an enormous step in the competition with a man who has been around .”
The lightweights traded shots quickly and frequently with Johnson showing quick hands while Mullarkey responded with a succession of leg kicks. The back-and-forth exchanges were very close until Johnson uncorked a huge left hook that blasted Mullarkey and sent him down to the canvas.
Johnson looked to finish, but Mullarkey managed to withstand the assault and get back on his feet. Mullarkey returned the favour with another left hook late in round one. Johnson was in real trouble when he grabbed his legs and then struggled to get out of an awkward position before the horn went off.
The surge from Mullarkey gave him a ton of confidence going into the second round as he came out guns blazing with blitzing combinations just chopping away at Johnson with a variety of kicks and punches. A cut over Johnson’s right eye started to drip blood down his face as Mullarkey looked like he was ready to go for the kill.
Despite the heavy shots landing for Mullarkey on the feet, Johnson wasn’t going away as he started connecting with a series of straight punches that were snapping the Australian’s head back. Johnson also appeared to be the fresher fighter in the latter stages of the final round, which helped him keep his output constant until the conclusion.
It’s likely both athletes will walk away with a couple of new scars after a serious 15-minute battle but the judges felt Mullarkey did enough to earn the decision as he gets back on track following a loss in his last outing while moving to 3-1 overall in his past four fights.
