If Demetrious Johnson wins tonight, he will extend his impressive streak of consecutive defenses and be sure to set a couple more records. Which of them may once again fall under the onslaught of the best “flyman” in history? In our opinion, the evening before the fight is the best opportunity to answer this question.
General statistics
According to the official UFC website, on at the moment Demetrious Johnson is the best fighter in the promotion, regardless of weight categories.
He is one of only 5 fighters in UFC history to achieve a 10-fight winning streak. The Mighty Mouse is accompanied by Royce Gracie (11), Georges St. Pierre (12), Jon Jones (13) and Anderson Silva (16).
Johnson's current 10-fight winning streak is the longest in UFC flyweight history. Ten wins is generally the best result in the history of the 125-pound category.
Five early victories, which Demetrius won in the flyweight division - the best result in the history of this weight.
The six fight bonuses Johnson earned while competing in the flyweight division are also a record for that category.
Champion statistics
At the time of the Elliott fight, Johnson's flyweight reign will have lasted 1,533 days. This is the 4th most in UFC history behind Jose Aldo (1848), Georges St-Pierre (2064) and Anderson Silva (2457).
Demetrius has made eight consecutive successful title defenses, the most among current champions of the promotion. In the entire history of the UFC, there have only been two longer streaks like this. They belong to St. Pierre (9) and Silva (10).
. “Mighty Mouse” won 5 early victories in title fights. During fights for the belt, only Anderson Silva and Matt Hughes finished more often than their rivals; they each have 9 such victories.
Demetrious Johnson is the only fighter in UFC history to win title fight using the kimura technique (also known as the shoulder knot). The submission victory came at UFC 178, and the victim was Chris Carasio.
While competing in mixed martial arts, Demetrius never lost by knockout or submission.
The 1,164 significant strikes he landed while fighting in the flyweight division is a division record.
While competing in flyweights, Johnson scored 43 takedowns, which is a division record.
He is the only fighter in UFC history who managed to carry out 10 or more takedowns in three different fights of the organization.
Demetrius submitted Kiochi Horiguchi at 4 minutes 59 seconds into the 5th round of their fight. This is the latest stoppage in UFC history.
Dimetrius Krishna Johnson
American-born MMA fighter. The first UFC flyweight champion. Made eight title defenses. Known for his fast striking technique, elusive, elusive movement. The only fighter in the promotion to score more than ten takedowns in three different bouts.
Youth
Born in Kentucky, raised in Parkland (Washington State, USA), where he attended high school Washington and was involved in wrestling, track and cross-country cycling. He took third and second places in regional competitions while studying at school. Bicycle racing worked out to improve cardio in wrestling and competed at the state level in both sports.
He began his professional MMA career in 2007 and won his debut fight by knockout in the first round. Appeared in various shows, won eight fights, five of them in a row by submission. He fought under the auspices of Alaska Fighting Championships and knocked out his opponent with a kick to the head. As a result of this victory, a WEC contract was signed with him.
He made his promotional debut at bantamweight against Brad Pickett in the spring of 2010. Johnson showed good kickboxing, but was unable to defend against Pickett's takedowns and lost by decision. Joe Rogan predicted during this fight that Johnson would be much more impressive at flyweight, which the WEC had not yet introduced.
Johnson was scheduled to fight Clint Godfrey in September, but he pulled out of the card and was replaced by rookie Nick Pace, whom Johnson defeated by decision.
Also defeated Damasio Page in the third round by submission. Page gained the upper hand in the first round, but ran out of steam, and Johnson regained control in the second and performed a guillotine choke in the third.
In October, the WEC merged with the UFC, the fighters were transferred under the auspices of the latter. Johnson fought Japanese star Norifumi Yamamoto in February: the American blocked takedowns in two rounds, controlled the fight and won a decision.
Johnson was booked to fight Renan Barao in May, but Johnson fought Miguel Torres after Torres' opponent Brad Pickett was injured and pulled off the card. In the confrontation, Johnson broke fibula at the beginning of the second round due to a kick, but used his advantage on the ground to win a decision despite the fact that the opponent was in the full mount position six times.
Fought Dominick Cruz at bantamweight and lost the fight by decision.
There were rumors that Johnson would face Eddie Wineland in the ring, but Johnson competed in the bantamweight championship.
He fought Ian McCall in the spring of 2012 in the first bantamweight division fight in UFC history. The fight lasted three rounds, Johnson won according to the majority of judges, but promotion president Dana White announced a mistake, and the fight ended in a draw.
The rematch with McCall took place in June, this time Johnson won unanimously.
In the fall of 2012, Johnson fought Joseph Benavidez in the final of the bantamweight division tournament and celebrated a split decision victory, winning the UFC bantamweight championship.
Fought John Dodson in early 2013 in the main event. Dodson kept up with his opponent's speed, putting him down twice with left blows, but Johnson regained control of the fight and almost knocked out his opponent in the fifth round. The victory went to Johnson by decision. Both fighters received the Tournament Fight bonus.
Matchmakers were planning to arrange a fight between Johnson and John Moraga in April during The Ultimate Fighter, but Johnson was injured. The fight with Moraga was postponed to July. Johnson controlled all five rounds entering the fight and won via armbar at the end of the fight. For the first time in his career, he received the “Submission of the Tournament” award.
A rematch with Benavidez was expected in November during the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Johnson scored a decisive first-round knockout victory, becoming the first to stop Benavidez. Received the "Tournament Knockout" bonus.
Fought Ali Bagautinov in June 2014, unanimously defending the title for the fourth time, despite his opponent testing positive for erythropoietin before the fight. Bagautinov was excluded from competition for a year.
Chris Cariaso became Johnson's next opponent in September. Johnson gained the upper hand in two rounds using a kimura submission.
Having crushed the dreams of one contender for the championship belt, Johnson repeated his victory over Kyoji Horiguchi, the fight was almost one-sided, the champion retained the belt with an armbar in the fifth round. The fight was awarded the “Tournament Show” bonus.
The rematch with Dodson took place in September 2015, Johnson again secured the victory by decision in a one-sided fight.
Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo became Johnson's next opponent and was defeated by technical knockout in the first round, although he managed to land many blows. Johnson received his second Show of the Tournament bonus for the fight.
In July, Johnson was injured in training camp and was unable to compete in a fight with Wilson Race scheduled for July 2016.
Johnson next competed in December and won unanimously.
Fighting style
Known as one of the fastest fighters in MMA, also for his ability to strike fast strikes with fists and kicks to the head or body, and then instantly break the distance. Counters while in the pocket.
In addition to striking techniques, Johnson is known for his jiu-jitsu skills, the techniques of which have finished the fight more than once. In the clinch he uses Muay Thai skills, combining strikes with elbows and knees.
Personal life
Johnson had a difficult childhood, born two months premature to a deaf mother and abusive stepfather. Never saw my biological father. Destiny Johnson, whom he married in 2012, helped him move forward. The couple has two sons, Tyren (2013) and Maverick (2015).
Main titles
UFC Flyweight Champion
Nine UFC title defenses
UFC Flyweight Championship
Tournament Battle Bonus (twice)
Tournament Submission Bonus
Tournament Knockout Bonus
- current UFC flyweight champion, the leader of the pound-for-pound rating, and today the most stable fighter in the promotion. An incredibly smart and versatile athlete, he can fight both standing and on the ground. Different high speed, good endurance and excellent technique. Adapts very well to each opponent.
Biography of Demetrius Johnson
Demetrius Johnson was born on August 13, 1986 in Madisonville, Kentucky, but grew up in Parkland, Washington. His father died two months before Demetrius was born, so he was raised by his deaf mother, Keiren Johnson, and his stepfather, who abused his adopted son. Johnson himself claims that as a child it was very difficult for him to live in such conditions. He developed an interest in sports during his school years - Demetrius was involved in track running, cross-country running, and wrestling. He always placed high in competitions, even competing in running at the Washington state level a couple of times.
Demetrius Johnson in high school (far left)After school, Johnson got a job as a laborer at a woodworking factory, but did not give up sports. While working 40 hours a week, he managed to train approximately 10 hours a week. Around that time, he began to get involved in mixed martial arts, but at the same time he was engaged in gym, as well as CrossFit. Up until his victory over Miguel Torres at UFC 130, Demetrius combined training with work at the factory. Johnson's coaches say the athlete's success came in part due to his incredible physique and ability to pick things up on the fly. In that fight, he avoided several attempts at painful techniques purely intuitively, without particularly training his defense against these techniques in the gym.
In those days, Demetrius had to combine training not only with work, he also helped his mother, who was diagnosed with bone cancer. A typical day for the future champion looked something like this: early rise, going to work, then Johnson visited his mother, took her to the hospital, if necessary, took her back, returned to work, then, in the evening, went to train, and only then returned home.
Johnson is very strong emotionally: despite everything he has experienced, he is an incredibly positive, cheerful and cheerful guy. Relatives say that they would never have thought that he went through such serious trials if they had not learned it from him himself.
A year and a half after his UFC debut, Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez by split decision to become the promotion's first flyweight champion. In 6 years, he lost only to Dominick Cruz, this was even before the introduction of flyweight. He has already made ten successful defenses, equaling the legendary Anderson Silva in this indicator. It seems that no one and nothing can remove the mouse from the throne. Recently, an entire season of the Ultimate Fighter show was dedicated to finding a worthy opponent for Demetrius - champions of local promotions were gathered in order to identify the best and give the lucky winner a title fight immediately after the end of the reality. However, Johnson passed the next test without any problems and retained the belt, and six months later, at UFC on FOX 24, he defeated Wilson Reis, coming close to setting an absolute UFC record for the number of successful defenses of the champion belt.
Demetrius Johnson deservedly leads the pound-for-pound rankings. When watching his fights, you get the feeling that he is an ideal fighter with no weaknesses, he is excellent, fast and accurate in the stance, moves well, controls the distance, hits with both hands and feet, if desired, enters the clinch and works with his knees, takes the opponent into the ground and beats him there, or performs a painful or suffocating technique.
Despite his excellent fighting qualities in the octagon, and his human qualities outside of it, the promotion does not seek to promote its hard-working champion, and unfortunately, tournaments with Johnson’s participation have almost the lowest ratings of all UFC events. However, Mighty Mouse himself actively works with his fans, in addition to constant activity on social networks, he runs his own Twitch channel, because, in his own words, he really loves video games and communicating with his fan base.
Personal life of Demetrius Johnson
Demetrius Johnson is married to Destiny Johnson (nee Bartels). She also grew up in Washington. The couple met in high school when they both worked part-time at Red Lobster. The champion has said more than once that his wife is the best thing that happened to him in his entire life. She was with him from the very beginning, since then, when no one believed in him, she always supported him and was understanding of the fact that training took up a considerable part of his time. They got married on May 11, 2012 in Hawaii. Destiny even agreed to postpone her honeymoon to give her husband the opportunity to have a full training camp for the fight with Ian.
The Johnsons have two sons - Tyreen was born on July 19, 2013, and Maverick was born on 15
April 2015. It's funny that in both cases Demetrius defended his belt 8 and 10 days after the birth of his sons. Destiny tries to help her husband in everything - she once even mentioned that she advised the champion not to let people from his old job into his life, who never loved Demetrius, but decided to establish a connection with him after he became a champion. Demetrius himself claims that the only thing that allowed him to get out of his past life and become happy was the love and support of his wonderful wife.
After the injury of Cody Garbrandt (11-0), TJ Dillashaw (14-3) began to actively lobby for the idea of his fight with Demetrious Johnson (26-2). The former champion is ready to come down in weight for the big fight. Dana White liked this idea and, according to rumors, made an attempt to organize a fight in August. But Mighty Mouse didn’t like the idea. Earlier, Demetrius said that such a fight is not a “super fight”, since TJ is no longer a champion in his weight. Johnson himself is waiting for a contract to fight Ray Borg (11-2).
In a recent interview, Dana White said that "The Mouse" does not want to fight Dillashaw, calling such a position "crazy." The UFC president is surprised that Johnson is turning down the opportunity to take part in the first PPV evening and “a really big fight.” White has nothing against Ray Borg, but believes that the candidacy of the former UFC champion looks more preferable. Dana confirmed that if TJ comes down in weight, he will become a contender for a title shot against Demetrius if he wants it. White added that “The Mouse” does not book fights, and the UFC intends to make this fight happen no matter what. According to the president, Dillashaw has already started losing weight.
Today Johnson, breaking the information space. Demetrius told the full story of the UFC's negotiations and tricks, making unusual criticism of the organization. “The Little Mouse” remembered everything to the bosses - poor promotion, lack of interest in PPV fights and much more. Here is the full text of Johnson's message.
« For many years I was a company man and kept quiet while accepting any fights. I did everything that was asked of me, always remaining humble and grateful for the opportunities that were given to me mixed martial arts. This sport raised me that way. Unfortunately, the UFC's bad attitude and threats forced me to finally speak out. I decided to speak out now because I feel that my dignity and reputation as an ordinary person and as a fighter may be tarnished by the organization. The organization for which I have shed so much sweat and blood over the last seven years of my life. If I am required to express my opinion, thereby motivating other fighters to unite and start fighting for a fair distribution of income, then so be it.
UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard (he is responsible for organizing fights in bantamweight divisions, note.. I thought that a fight with Sergio Pettis would be more interesting, since he is more famous and has more in a long series victories Mick talked to Dana and then said I had no choice, it would be Borg, not Pettis. There are no other options. This was the team of Dana White and company. This meant that my only shot at a PPV as a flyweight would be against Ray Borg. I said OK, but it wasn't really fair because I have a good chance to fight on PPV after Cody Garbrandt said he wanted to come down in weight and fight me. I would like this fight.
We told Mick that it would be fair for me to take the Borg fight, but get PPV percentages of future fights at my weight. Mick agreed and said that it would be really fair and he didn't see any problem with the situation. A little later, Maynard spoke with Sean Shelby and Dana White. They rejected the idea of my flyweight PPV percentages. Besides, I was left with no other options, only a fight with Borg without a choice. I accepted this fight and decided to deal with the disgusting treatment from Shelby and White after I broke the record for title defenses. Mick thanked me for taking the fight in that situation and with that kind of attitude from Dana and Sean.
I wanted to be given a reason why I will not receive payouts from pay-per-views in the future. Sean Shelby called me and explained that the smaller fighters weren't selling well and the UFC couldn't make a star out of any of us. Shawn said my fight with Cody would not be for sale. I didn't agree with this. It seems to me that the Garbrandt fight will be in demand if it receives even a fraction of the marketing effort that is given to other big fights.
The UFC failed to promote me properly. Before my last fight, where I repeated the record for the number of belt defenses, we hoped for a sufficient number of reposts from social networks UFC, from their Facebook page. None of this happened - the posts appeared a few days before the fight on fight week. Two posts. Compared to other fighters they actively promote on social networks and media platforms, they did not do their job of promoting me at such a significant moment for me. In my recent conversation with Dana and Sean, it was confirmed to me that the UFC has no plans to make an effort to promote me.
Also, I want to point out the problem with promoting the entire flyweight division, even though Dana claims otherwise. I'm willing to bet that the UFC's marketing doesn't extend to our division. In 3 years, 3 new divisions appeared in the UFC; for two years (from 2012 to 2014), the organization focused all its marketing efforts on the growth of women's MMA. I understand that. But three years have passed since the opening of these divisions, but the company continues to do the bare minimum in terms of marketing for other weight classes. As a fighter, I pay close attention to the promotion around my fights. I can say that it is quite difficult to find any effort in what was done for my promotion outside of TUF 24. And even that effort, compared to other fighters, fights and seasons, was minimal. The UFC chooses not to promote me as the best fighter in the world and possibly one of the greatest fighters in history. I can't imagine others sports organizations in the world who will sacrifice best player his league or in his sport, and will not try to sell more of his product on his name. Look at mine track record, look at my list of early wins, look at my list of bonuses for the best performances of the night. Ask yourself, would the UFC really not be able to sell my fights if they were depriving me of dollars to promote me?
This is completely unrelated, but after I took the Borg fight, Cody Garbrandt injured his back and TJ Dillashaw said he wanted to fight me. Dana told me he wanted me to fight him. But I did not agree and I had several reasons. First, Dillashaw has never fought at flyweight and is unlikely to make the weight. If he doesn't make weight, I won't be able to break the record for most title defenses. Secondly, I was told that my fight with Garbrandt would not sell, so the fight with TJ would not be profitable either. Third, Dillashaw is not a champion and was knocked out by a guy I beat twice. After all, I had already agreed to the fight with Ray Borg that the UFC demanded, depriving me of the opportunity to receive PPV interest.
After I shared my thoughts with Dana, he irritably told me that I would fight TJ. Again, with no other options, despite my career and what we talked about before. He said if I didn't fight Dillashaw and turned down the Borg fight, he would get rid of the entire flyweight division. He said it was for TJ's sake that I was taking his chance away from him. The fact that Dana thinks I should do something with my career for TJ speaks volumes about White's priorities.
Sorry Dana, but this is Demetrious Johnson's career and my goals are to fight the best fighters flyweight; break the record for title defenses; fight the bantamweight champion (Garbrandt - approx.. My career was not built for my sidekick Dana, who is neither the bantamweight champion nor a contender for the flyweight title.
As a result, I did not agree to this fight. The next day, Dana went to the media and said I didn't want to fight Dillashaw, obviously trying to pressure or intimidate me and possibly ruin my reputation. I released a short statement letting fans know that I had not agreed to fight TJ, but had already agreed to fight Borg, as requested by the UFC.
In the interview, Dana said that my reluctance to fight Teejay is “crazy”, that he is the one who makes the fights, and this is the fight that he wants to have. He made it seem like I was afraid or avoiding a fight with Dillashaw.
Mick talked to me about trying to change the opponent from Ray to TJ. I told him that I think Dillashaw needs to fight at least one fight in the flyweight division to prove that he can make weight and win here. After that, he can fight me if I'm not busy with Cody by then. The matchmaker decided that this made sense.
Later Mick called again. On Dana's instructions, he asked me to fight TJ and call off the deal with Ray. I told him that we were afraid that TJ wouldn't make weight and the fight wouldn't be a title fight, which would prevent me from breaking the record for title defenses. Meek said he guarantees Dillashaw will make weight. I told him that if he gives me such guarantees, and TJ and the UFC are so picky and put such uncomfortable conditions on me, then it would be fair to do the following - if TJ does not make weight, the fight will be canceled and I will receive my guaranteed fee and T.J.'s guaranteed fee. Mick said that Borg will be on the same card and, if anything, he could replace Dillashaw if he doesn't make weight. I asked him who exactly should I prepare for? After all, he just guaranteed that TJ would make weight.
This is a fight between the best promotion in the world and number one in the rankings best fighters in the world or an amateur tournament where I don’t know who my opponent will be until I come to the fight? Obviously there were no guarantees, they just wanted to force me to do something that would be wrong for my career. And they knew it. Their “guarantees” meant nothing, and they didn’t want to guarantee that they would reimburse me for damages I received during training camp for a fight that might not happen. The fact that Ray Borg will be a replacement shows a lack of respect for what we go through to prepare for fights at this level.
Mick came back with Dana and Shawn, talked to them, and then told me that they did not agree with my request, and I had to fight TJ with no guarantees and no financial “insurance” if Dillashaw could not make weight. This is typical of the broken promises and natural bullying that has accompanied my entire UFC career.”
Let's summarize:
- Demetrius agreed to their categorical demands to fight Ray Borg. Ray Borg also agreed.
- The UFC refused to give him PPV percentages for any future flyweight bouts. Previously they also did not give PPV percentages. DJ's request was fair and the division matchmaker agreed to it.
- Johnson offered the UFC fair terms to make the fight with Dillashaw happen, but they refused.
- Dana and Shawn said they were not interested in promoting DJ or promoting the "small" divisions. They say "The Mouse" will make PPV money from the Dillashaw fight, but they're missing the fact that there are a certain number of sales that need to be made that can't be made if they don't promote Demetrius properly like they have in his past fights .
- If TJ doesn't make weight, Johnson won't be able to break the record for most title defenses. But they refuse to pay him in this situation. Dana puts pressure on him through the media to get what he wants, not what is best for the fighter or the sport.
- The track record is not enough to promote fights.
