Tips & Tricks » who played just under 19 minutes. “Both

VANCOUVER -- The man nicknamed after a cartoon character put in another superhero-like performance. Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson dominated Ali (Puncher) Bagautinov from start to finish Saturday to win a unanimous decision and retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. Johnson showed his pedigree against a challenger who took a beating and was never really a threat at Rogers Arena. "It was a great performance," said Johnson. "Ali Bagauntinov, hes a tough guy. I hit him with a lot of shots with my knees to his face ... my knees are hurting pretty bad. "Usually when I hit people with those shots in the gym they go down." The bout marked the first time the flyweight division has headlined a UFC pay-per view card and was scored 50-45 by all three judges. "(Bagauntinov) likes to back up a lot and draw his opponents in and then go underneath them for a shot," said Johnson. "We knew that he was going to try to wrestle me to slow me down." In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald defeated Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in an impressive unanimous decision in the most exciting bout of the night. Johnson almost connected with a spinning kick with under a minute to go in the fifth and final round, but Bagautinov was able to avoid the blow to send the bout to the scorecards. The five-foot-three Johnson (20-2-1, 8-1-1) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and has now successfully defended the 125-pound belt four times. The 27-year-old who fights out of Parkland, Wash., said this week that the five-foot-four Bagautinov (13-3, 3-1) would pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never faced. But in the end, Baugatinov was overmatched and at times just seemed happy to be in the ring with Johnson, even hugging his opponent before the start of the fifth round. MacDonald, who came into his fight as the No. 2 contender in the 170-division, controlled Woodley from the middle of the first round on, using his superior reach to keep the two-time All-American wrestler at bay, while also connecting with both kicks and punches. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for MacDonald. The 24-year-old MacDonald (17-2, 8-2) took Woodley down two minutes into the third and final round and relentlessly pounded the No. 3-ranked welterweight until the bell sounded. MacDonalds team rushed into the octagon to congratulate their fighter as the crowd of 13,506 roared in approval. "I trained very hard," he said. "I wanted this fight to be the best performance of my career." Born in Quesnel, B.C., but now fighting out of Montreals Tristar Gym, MacDonald was mentored by Georges St-Pierre before the former champion stepped away from the sport late last year. The soft-spoken MacDonald lost to Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "I feel like Im falling into a groove," said MacDonald. "Somethings clicking." The 32-year-old Woodley (13-3, 3-2), who scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March, said before the fight he expected the crowd to be split, but he was sorely mistaken as the Canadian support found its way firmly behind MacDonald from the start, including chants of "Lets go Rory" throughout the tilt. MacDonald lost to Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver back in June 2010 and he admitted this week that the moment got to him four years ago -- something that didnt happen Saturday. "Ive grown a lot since then," he said. "It was nice being in Vancouver. The response was great." Saturday marked the UFCs first foray into Vancouver since UFC 131 back in June 2011. There were large pockets of empty seats in the arenas upper level on this night and the crowd didnt really get into the action until MacDonald and Woodley entered the octagon. Earlier Saturday night, light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader defeated Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante by unanimous decision in a fight that had fans getting a little restless due to a lack of action. Bader (18-4, 10-4) was the more ambitious fighter in the first two rounds, and perhaps sensing a need to score a knockout to win the bout, Cavalcante (12-5, 2-2) came out swinging in the third, but the Brazilian was unable to land any decisive blows. In the heavyweight division, former champion Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski defeated Brendan (The Hybrid) Schaub by a split decision in his return to UFC after more than six years away from the company. Arlovski (22-10 with one no contest) looked tentative early and spent the majority of the last round on his back, but did enough to earn the victory on two of the judges three scorecards to improve his UFC record to 11-4. A bloodied Schaub (11-4, 6-4) raised his arms at the end of the fight thinking that he had done enough to win, and seemed surprised by the decision. Meanwhile, light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux won by submission after breaking the left arm of Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo at 2:10 of the second round. Jimmo (19-4, 3-3) -- who is from Saint John, N.B., but now fights out of Edmonton -- was bloodied in the first round and nearly had his arm ripped out of its socket before the referee stopped the fight to keep Saint Preux (16-6, 4-0) perfect in the UFC. In the preliminary fights: welterweight Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto defeated Daniel Sarafian by submission at 2:52 of the first round; womens bantamweight Valerie (Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal defeated Elizabeth Phillips in a brutal slugfest by a split decision; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin scored a unanimous decision over Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight Tae Hyun (Supernatural) Bang knocked out (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., at 2:01 of the third round; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg dropped a unanimous decision to Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto defeated Josh Shockley by technical knockout at 4:57 of the first round. Notes: The gate brought in US$1.14 million. ... Bang got fight of the night honours, as well as performance of the night. Kunimoto was also awarded for performance of the night. ... Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was in attendance. The crowd booed the former NFLer when he was shown on the big screens perched around Rogers Arena. Lavonte David Youth Jersey . Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport. Mike Evans Womens Jersey . This game was inside. Adrian Peterson was missing. The stage was set for another step toward the playoffs. http://www.authenticbuccaneerspro.com/Jameis-winston-buccaneers-jersey/ . The White Sox said Wednesday they acquired left-handed pitching prospect Sean Bierman and infielder Ben Kline, who both played at Class A this season. The White Sox dealt Crain to Tampa Bay on July 29. Jamel Dean Womens Jersey . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Vita Vea Buccaneers Jersey . The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana.GLENDALE, Ariz. – Mats Sundin was the captain. Paul Maurice was behind the bench. Andrew Raycroft was starting in goal. And Alex Steen was scoring the game-winning goal as the Maple Leafs reeled off their fifth consecutive win in St. Louis. That was Feb. 6, 2007, a long and often dark run of seven years since the club last won five in a row. But with another standout performance from Jonathan Bernier, among other things, they would finally match the mark again in the Arizona desert on Monday night. “Its always nice to get a couple wins in the backpack,” said Carl Gunnarsson after a 4-2 victory over the Coyotes, “but weve got a long ways to go here. Were not satisfied. We just know that if we keep doing this we can continue this win streak.” The Leafs have been a different team since they were dropped handily by the Hurricanes in Raleigh earlier this month. What was then their third straight loss (en route to four) and a low point in a season veering off the rails seems to have proven a turning point. “We found out winnings fun,” said Jake Gardiner with a large grin. “Practice the other day was light – we had a three-on-three scrimmage and we want more of that. Hopefully we can keep winning.” Though they were outplayed by the Coyotes in the back half of Mondays outing – outshot 29-15 over the final two periods – a once lackadaisical group has found, in recent days, the necessary will to start earning wins with more consistency. Compete was the word head coach Randy Carlyle tossed around repeatedly as the losses mounted in the early days of 2014, but of late, that tenor has changed for the better. “We knew we were a great team – we just didnt compete enough,” said Bernier, who made 39 saves. “Thats the main thing. I think were doing it right now.” Continued brilliance from the 25-year-old between the pipes has also helped, not to mention a scorching run from Phil Kessel, who scored his team-leading 24th goal in the win. “We feel that this group can continue to grow and play to a higher level, but its enough talking about it,” said Carlyle. “Action speaks louder than words. Weve got to continue to grow this group to be a playoff hockey club. That was a statement we made before and were going to continue to make it because we believe in this group; we believe we can play to a higher level; we believe weve got more; and I think they believe theyve got more.” The win streak has nestled the club into the first wild card position, now with 57 points in 51 games. Five Points 1. Berniers Zone Bernier improved to 3-0-0 lifetime against the Coyotes while bumping his save percentage up to .927 this season with the 39-save performance at Jobing.com Arena. His efforts throughout the night were the ultimate difference in the game. “We had some turnovers tonight that were pretty juicy and he definitely bailed us out,” said Gardiner, bailed out in one such instance by Bernier in the opening frame. “I think this is probably one of his better games.” Entrenched as the Leafs first option in goal at the moment, Bernier stopped all 27 shots in the opening two periods, including 15 in a one-sided secoond frame.dddddddddddd His stop on Radim Vrbata with just over eight minutes to go in the third kept the score at 3-1. Nazem Kadri would increase the lead back to three just a few minutes later. “I thought I was seeing the puck pretty good tonight,” said Bernier, who owns a 17-14-4 record this season. 2. Five Straight Only five players from the last Leafs squad to win five straight are even in the league today: Steen, Matt Stajan, Carlo Colaiacovo, Hal Gill, and Nik Antropov. 3. Kessels Scorching Run Phil Kessel had two points before the first period even closed in Phoenix, extending his point streak to six games. The 26-year-old has four goals and 12 points in that span, now up to 50 points in 51 games this season – good for seventh (tie) in league scoring. “When he gets hot hes one of those guys that everything he shoots has a chance to go in,” said Carlyle of Kessel. “Hes got a skill-set that the puck follows him around. Those are signs of great players.” 4. Source of Success Cody Franson described what he believed to be the source of the teams recent success. “I think weve played a tighter brand of hockey,” said Franson before Mondays game. “Weve managed the puck a little better and weve really just had everybody get on the same page and buy in. We havent had any nights where guys were trying to do a little too much or we didnt have any passengers. Just the whole team coming together as one has made it a little easier for us to execute our game-plan.” 5. Gardiners Showing Jake Gardiner had yet to post a multipoint night this season before boasting his fourth goal of the season and an assist against Phoenix. But despite the fine offensive numbers, the 23-year-old had his share of struggles in the desert, especially with the puck. A giveaway early in the first preceded a terrific opportunity for Vrbata – one that was turned away by Bernier – and then later that period another giveaway led to Lauri Korpikoski ringing one off the cross-bar. Gardiner would score the games opening goal moments later. “I had some good plays, had some bad plays,” said Gardiner, who played just under 19 minutes. “Both Morgan [Rielly] and I werent very happy about the way we played, but we got the win and as a team we played pretty well.” Stats-Pack 19-6-3 – Leafs record when scoring first this season. 6 – Consecutive games with a point for Phil Kessel, who has four goals and 12 points in that span. 82 – Games between goals for Carl Gunnarsson, who scored his first of the year on Monday. 6 – Power-play goals for the Leafs in the past five games. 11 – Games between goals for Nazem Kadri, who scored for the first time since Dec. 23 against the Coyotes. 3 – Consecutive games with a point for Kadri, who has five points in that span. 10-7-1 – Record versus the Western Conference this season. Special Teams Capsule PP: 2-6Season: 22.8% (4th) PK: 3-4Season: 77.3% (28th) Quote of the Night “We found out winnings fun.” -Jake Gardiner, on the difference in atmosphere around the team in recent days. Up Next The Leafs head to Colorado for a Tuesday date with the Avalanche. ' ' '