SEATTLE — Ed Herman won a narrow split decision on Saturday over Trevor Smith in a UFC 185-pound battle between two fighters with Vancouver ties.
Herman got the nod by a 29-28 margin on the decisive judge’s scorecard. One judge had Smith winning 30-27 and another had Herman 30-27.
“It was a battle, he was tough,” Herman said. “He rocked me a few times and he was definitely testing me throughout. He was taking my punches a lot better than I thought he’d be able to. I’m just happy I got the win and glad to get out of here in pretty good shape.”
The fight was on the undercard for UFC on Fox 8 from Seattle’s KeyArena. Herman improved to 21-7 as a mixed martial arts professional, 8-5 in UFC. Smith, in his UFC debut, fell to 10-4 as a pro fighter.
Herman grew up in Vancouver and now lives and trains in Fort Collins, Colo. Smith’s attended elementary school in Vancouver and graduated from Mark Morris High School in Longview. He lives and trains in the Seattle area.
Both fighters are known for their wrestling prowess, but for these three five-minute rounds Herman and Smith were mostly on their feet. Herman landed more blows during a match in which both fighters were aggressive.
Smith did most of his damage by striking with his knees and feet, and some well timed upper-cut punches that wobbled Herman.
“I thought I won, but it was a close fight, so I’ll give him the credit,” Smith said. “I hope it was exciting for the fans. I’ll be back.”
Demetrious Johnson used an armbar on John Moraga late in the fifth round and successfully defended his UFC flyweight championship with a submission victory before a partisan hometown crowd.
Johnson, making the second defense of the flyweight crown, controlled most of the fight, then ended it at 3:43 of the fifth round, bending Moraga’s right arm to the point referee Herb Dean stopped the fight. Johnson (18-2-1) leaped to his feet with four spinning kicks in the center of the ring to celebrate his title defense.
The co-main event saw young Canadian star Rory MacDonald (15-1) take a unanimous decision over Jake Ellenberger (29-7) in a welterweight fight that left the crowd cascading boos after the much-anticipated matchup failed to live up to its billing. But MacDonald’s strategy of avoiding Ellenberger’s big punches worked and ran his winning streak to five.
In other fights on the main card, Robbie Lawler used a huge kick to floor Bobby Voelker in a second-round knockout. Liz Carmouche also had a second-round victory, stopping Brazil’s Jessica Andrade in her UFC debut.
