Charles Johnson had some robust moments early, however delivered an emphatic end late with a surprising third-round knockout over extremely touted flyweight prospect Joshua Van at UFC Denver.
Whereas the primary two rounds have been aggressive, Johnson left nothing to probability and he got here out on the lookout for the end as quickly because the bell rang for Spherical 3. He ended up clipping Van with a punch that landed simply behind the ear after which uncorked a long-range uppercut that related clear.
Van’s head snapped again in violent trend earlier than he crashed right down to the canvas with the referee speeding in to cease the motion earlier than he suffered any additional harm. The top got here simply 20 seconds into the third and remaining spherical with Johnson getting the knockout win.
“I received this combat 11 days in the past,” Johnson stated afterward. “I went as much as 9,300 toes, ran hills for 3 or 4 days. The third spherical hit, no one’s touching me. I felt I him with that proper hook and the subsequent factor is to return up underneath.”
Whereas Johnson undoubtedly had his moments, Van was touchdown the higher strikes by means of the primary two rounds as he persistently related with each energy and accuracy. Van measured his photographs, however nonetheless received into some wild exchanges with Johnson on the toes.
Van’s putting appeared crisp all night time lengthy, nevertheless it was a lapse in protection that value him on Saturday.
With Johnson popping out aggressive, the St. Louis native made certain there was no want for the scorecards as he was launching bombs as quickly as he received launched from his nook within the third spherical. Johnson got here after Van with every little thing in his arsenal and that’s when he landed a superbly timed hook. With Van wobbled from the punch, Johnson threw the uppercut from distance to place his opponent down and out for the ultimate time.
It was an extremely spectacular end, particularly with all the eye Van has been receiving recently as one of many prime up-and-comers at 125 kilos.
Johnson has now rattled off three wins in a row — all in 2024 — and it seems he would possibly attempt to get a minimum of another earlier than the yr is over.
