UFC 227 Open Workouts: Audience connections and SoCal love

LA’s Novo theater outside the Staples Center, the home of Saturday’s UFC 227 Pay-Per-View event, was the host to free open workouts as unique as the city itself. The defending champions, TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson, bookended the show with their athletic prowess, while both challengers, Cody Garbrandt and Henry Cejudo used their time on the stage to connect with the lively Angeleno crowd.

Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson kicked off the proceedings with another one of his high-spirited workouts. Already the UFC record-holder with eleven straight title defenses, he’ll look to make it a previously unimaginable twelve when he runs it back with Henry Cejudo in the sequel to their…