Denny Burkholder

Up next is Anthony "Rumble" Johnson vs. Kevin Burns.

Round 1: They throw leather to start. Burns with a body lock, throwing knees to the ribs. They separate and trade some more, with Burns landing some good shots. Johnson with an accidental kick to the groin and referee Steve Mazzagatti stops the action briefly so Burns can recover. When it starts again, Johnson takes down Burns. Burns with a very active guard, trapping Johnson's right arm and punching him with the free arm. Johnson not able to do much on top. Mazzagatti asks them for action. Johnson landing the odd shot here and there but largely covering up from Burns' strikes from the bottom. The ref stands them up. They exchange punches again. Burns with the body lock this time as the buzzer ends the round. I give it to Burns 10-9 based on being more active and also because Johnson looked lost once he scored the takedown.

Round 2: They trade again and Burns clocks him with a right. He rushes in with a pair of knees to the head before Burns tries for a takedown, and settles for a clinch against the cage. They separate and the striking resumes. Johnson with a left hook. Johnson mixing in leg kicks now to set up his shots better. High kick by Johnson doesn't really find its target. Burns with a front kick. Johnson throws a nice body kick-punch combo but whiffs on the punches. Johnson takes Burns down. Burns is cut under the right eye. Johnson working the cut with left hands and elbows. Johnson is not trying to pass guard or improve position, just basically covering up in Burns' guard with the odd strike mixed in. They get stood up again, but nothing happens before the end of the round. 10-9 Johnson based on him finding his rhythm and getting the better of the standup. This fight is totally up for grabs in Round 3. Let's see who takes it.

Round 3: Burns with roundhouse kicks to the ribs. They trade leg kicks. Johnson catches a kick and uses it for a takedown. I'm not sure what Johnson plans to do on the ground this time that he didn't think of before. A few strikes and Mazzagatti stands them up again. Johnson with another takedown. (Ever see the movie Groundhog Day?) Johnson does very little and they're stood up again. Burns puts an open left hand in Johnson's face and pokes him hard in the eye, enough that Johnson turns away, falls flat on his stomach and yelps in pain. Burns looks confused (probably because he knew he didn't connect hard enough to knock him out), looks at Mazzagatti (who hasn't stepped in yet), then runs to finish Johnson on the ground. Then Mazzagatti steps in and checks on Johnson, who is still on the ground complaining about the eye jab. After a brief break, Johnson's eye is still closed, so the fight is over.

Winner: Kevin Burns defeated Anthony Johnson via TKO at 3:35 of Round 3 due to Johnson not being able to continue from the eye poke.

Somewhat surprising that the fight wasn't ruled for Johnson via disqualification, but evidently the officials are convinced the eye poke was an errant blow and non-intentional.

"It was extremely accidental," Burns told Joe Rogan. He explained that he throws palm strikes with his left hand because he broke that hand three times in 16 months, so he can't throw closed-fist punches with it.

"Everybody stop booing Kevin," Johnson said. "This is a fight. Things happen."