Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson scrambled out Ray Borg at UFC 216 for more than four rounds before submitting him out in an extraordinary move made his record-setting eleventh straight title defense in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the fifth round, he turned to suplex attempt at Ray Borg into armbar to end the fight to set his legendary status.
Might Mouse with this win surpassed Anderson Silva’s UFC record with 11 title defenses and at 31 he got diverse options available. Johnson’s unbelievable reign as the UFC’s only flyweight division with unfathomable dominance. So whats next for him, he could potentially return to Bantamweight division of 135 to challenge the winner of Cody Garbrandt vs. Dillashaw bout or stays at 125 and further cement his legacy.
Reigning flyweight champion talking to MMA Hour on Monday:
“Staying at 125,” Johnson revealed on The MMA Hour. “It was the easiest weight cut I ever had (at UFC 216). I mean, I woke up this morning at 138 pounds and I had a delicious chocolate stout, I had a bowl of cereal after. I’m just a small guy. I saw my boy, (UFC bantamweight) ‘Funkmaster’ Aljamain Sterling, he said, ‘Man, I just broke 160 pounds.’ And to me, I’m like, ‘Jesus, you are a big dude, my friend.’ So going up to that weight class, obviously I want to be well compensated.”
Might Mouse is top at Pound-for-Pound ranking and further elaborated what it will take him to move to the higher division of 135 if promotions want him to drop in order to fight much bigger guys like Cody or Dillashaw. As well, why it’s important to him to solidify his legacy at flyweight division.
“Make it worth my while,” Johnson said. “Show me the money. These guys are taking concussions. Like I said after the fight, I’m not in the business to get concussions. I do not like getting hit. I can take a hit, but I don’t want to damage my brain if I don’t have to. So obviously there’s fights at 125 that seem appealing. Sergio Pettis is a hot prospect. Henry Cejudo looked good in his last fight. I know Joseph Benavidez is getting healthy again. So I don’t know see why I would leave when I just cemented this legacy. Why not set it to 15 (title defenses)?
“There’s going to come another guy down the road who’s going to be aiming for my record, so my job is to set the bar high. And Joanna Jedrzejczyk, she’s at six. So you know what, she might want to keep on going and try to break my record, and I can’t allow that. So I’ve got to set the bar higher, that why she’s like, ‘F*ck that, I’m not going to go for 20. I’m done. I did eight or nine, I’m done.’”
Cody Garbrandt and Dillashaw rope to fight for UFC Bantamweight division on November 4 at UFC 217. Mighty Mouse will know soon if the super fight is an option the UFC promotions want to explore or not. At the moment Johnson is at best mode of his career. He is looking to take a quick break in the fighting, before thinking about his next move.
“Honestly just all the love and respect from the fans, that’s always the biggest thing that puts a smile on my face,” Johnson said. “Everybody was like, ‘Holy sh*t, dude, I’ve been watching mixed martial arts my whole entire life. Pride, DREAM. UFC 1, 5, 8, 20. I’ve never seen a submission like that before. The way you moved from aspects of mixed martial arts, from stand-up to grappling to wrestling is absolutely amazing.’
“So a lot of good things came from this, but I’m just happy I’m healthy. That’s all I care about, is being healthy.”
