Demetrious Johnson News

Tom Taylor - October 8, 2017

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 216, Demetrious Johnson stepped into the Octagon with the intention of defending his flyweight belt for a record-breaking 11th-straight time. He did so with flying colors, dominating his young foe Ray Borg to a ridiculous fifth-round sequence in which he hit him with a suplex, caught his arm in mid-air, and locked up the arm-bar for the win. Given the historical implications and jaw-dropping nature of this win, it should come as no surprise that it generated some interesting reactions from the MMA community. See some of the best reactions to Demetrious Johnson’s incredible victory below!

Justin Golightly - October 7, 2017

Demetrious Johnson is now hours away from his attempt to break Anderson Silva’s title defense record, forever cementing him in UFC and MMA history. Even before Johnson reached this peak in his career, fans and media alike have purposed the idea he move up in weight to create new challenges. He was even in talks to fight TJ Dillashaw, before deciding to continue on his at flyweight. The last time Johnson fought in a bigger weight division was coincidentally the last time he lost. It was against former bantamweight king Dominick Cruz. While Cruz has been praised for his own mind for the sport, he returns the favor when it comes to Johnson.  “When I look at [Demetrious Johnson] since we fought, the place he’s made the most leaps and bounds was in his mind. I think DJ had a lot of early-on doubts about how good he was or could be. As he dropped to this division, where he felt he was at his actual weight class, you saw his confidence change. You saw his words change, the way he promoted the fight change. Everything about him kind of changed. That’s just confidence. That’s just knowing he’s the champion and knowing he’s the best in the world at 135 pounds as well. It just changed his mindset.”

Russell Ess - October 6, 2017

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1)  has the chance to set the record for the most consecutive UFC title defenses on Saturday night at UFC 216. “Mighty Mouse” is currently tied with former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva as they both hold 10 consecutive title defenses each. However, Johnson is still the champion and has the possibility of racking up much more title defenses to add to his record, unlike Silva at this point.

Justin Golightly - October 6, 2017

Do you remember when you were in school and someone did so well on a test that the teacher graded everyone on a curve? That curve is Demetrious Johnson. Were you ever jealous of a sibling that overshadowed the B you were proud of, because they got a A+? That A+ is Demetrious Johnson. An incredible fighter like Joseph Benavidez gets overlooked because Johnson is just that good, but he’s only ever lost to two men: Dominick Cruz and the one and only UFC flyweight champion. Out of 11 years and 25 fights, only losing to those two fighters is an amazing accomplishment. Still, as a fighter, you want the belt. You want to defeat the best in the world. Benavidez came very close at UFC 152, and it’s something he still gets lost in thought about. “I was that close to finishing someone many consider the best ever [in the first fight]. It’s something that goes through my head all the time. Every little thing that I could have done different. I will randomly be driving and get upset. My wife will say ‘what’s the matter?’ and I will say ‘nothing.’ But sometimes I think about little things like that and if it could have gone another way. When I fought [Demetrious Johnson] the first time, you couldn’t predict the epic run that he would go on. But when you see him going through other opponents you think, ‘Wow, he tears these guys apart and makes them look normal.’ [His speed] is something you can’t adjust to. I tried to go with the fastest people I could leading up to the fights with him and you still can’t get as fast as him until you get there.”

Russell Ess - October 5, 2017

UFC 216 is set to take place this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee are featured in the main event of the evening as they will fight for the UFC interim lightweight title. In the co-main event of the evening, there is a chance history will be made by the current number 1 UFC ranked pound-for-pound fighter, Demetrious Johnson. “Mighty Mouse” will look to defend his UFC flyweight title for the 11th time against Ray Borg. Johnson is currently tied with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defenses in UFC history at 10 a piece and Johnson will look to set the new record on Saturday night.

Tom Taylor - October 5, 2017

This weekend, in the co-main event of UFC 216, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will attempt to defend his title against Ray Borg. If Johnson is successful, it’ll mark his 11th consecutive title defense – the all-time record in the UFC. Despite the fact that Johnson is just days removed from potentially establishing himself as the most dominant champion in UFC history, he’s not really paid as such. Luckily, Johnson has worked out a new deal that means he will finally be getting pay-per-view points – a luxury afforded to most other champions – for this UFC 216 bout with Borg.

Tom Taylor - October 4, 2017

Originally, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was expected to attempt his potentially history-making 11th-straight title defense in the main event of UFC 215. Yet when his opponent, Ray Borg, was forced out of the fight at the last-minute with an injury, this flyweight title fight was rescheduled for UFC 216. Given that the original UFC 216 headliner, a fight between Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, is for the interim lightweight title, many people expected Borg and Johnson’s legitimate title fight to usurp the top spot on the bill. Instead, however, Johnson and Borg were shoehorned into the co-main event, under the interim title fight on the bill.

Justin Golightly - October 3, 2017

Fight week for fighters is a special kind of hell. You’re so close to the fight that you’ve prepared months for, but it’s just out of reach. You’re doing media, cameras are always around you, and worst of all, you’re cutting weight. Some fighters cut an obscene amount of weight. Conor McGregor went through a completely tame MMA cut in comparison to his others for the Floyd Mayweather fight, and Mayweather was worried he wouldn’t even make it to the fight. One guy who never worries about his cut, is Demetrious Johnson. In fact, he basically eats whatever he wants. He detailed his diet sitting next to Kevin Lee, who was visibly tortured and munching on arugula. “I’ll stay at 125lbs. After this I probably won’t fight until March, maybe February or March possibly. We’ll see. I’ll stay at 125lbs. Last night I went out to dinner, had two chicken breasts with mashed potatoes, broccolini, it was seasoned, had all the good-goods on it. And I woke up weighing 138.1lbs. So, it’s not [a problem for me to make 125lbs]. the only time I get to like, 142-143lbs, is I have a rack of ribs with a delicious Negra Modelo. I eat whatever I want and still be able to make this weight. Yeah, I eat dessert and all this stuff. I had Oreos before I came down [to the media lunch]. I had chocolate ones because I ate through all the vanilla Oreos that day before.”

Russell Ess - September 28, 2017

Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson are set to headline UFC 216 as the two will fight for the UFC interim lightweight title. There is also another title fight on the card as Demetrious Johnson will look to set a UFC record and surpass Anderson Silva for the most consecutive UFC title defenses, taking on Ray Borg in the co-main event. Interestingly, Johnson and Borg were set to headline UFC 215 but the bout was canceled just days before the fight date with Borg being sick and deemed unfit to compete by doctors.

Tom Taylor - September 28, 2017

On November 4, in the co-main event of the stacked UFC 217, UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt will attempt to defend his title against his most heated rival in TJ Dillashaw. If Garbrandt successfully defends his title, the expectation is that he’ll then turn his attention to the next contender on the docket – perhaps the winner of Jimmie Rivera and Dominic Cruz’s UFC 219 scrap. Apparently, however, Garbrandt’s team is still eying a drop to flyweight for a battle with dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Garbrandt’s head coach Justin Buchholz shared the plan on Five Rounds podcast.

Tom Taylor - September 13, 2017

If things had gone according to plan, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson would have attempted his eleventh-straight title defense opposite Ray Borg in the main event of UFC 215 last weekend. Regrettably, Borg was forced out of this contest at the last minute, leaving the champ without a fight. Luckily, Johnson and Borg are being rescheduled for UFC 216, which goes down on October 7 in Las Vegas. While this is currently the plan, however, Johnson isn’t sure he can trust Borg – who has made several last minute withdrawals from fights in the past – to show up for battle.

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2017

If things had gone according to plan, dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson would have taken on Ray Borg in the main event of UFC 215 this weekend. Regrettably, Borg was forced out of the fight with an illness at the very last minute, leaving Johnson without an opponent – and apparently, without a payday. On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the flyweight champ explained that he has still not been paid by the UFC – despite the fact that he was prepared to show up for the fight, and the bout’s cancellation really had nothing to do with him. Luckily, it sounds as though his bout with Borg will be rescheduled for UFC 216 in October, however.

Russell Ess - September 8, 2017

Another UFC main event has been canceled just days away from the scheduled date. This time it was for the UFC 215 flyweight title fight featuring Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg. Borg, the challenger was forced to withdraw from the title fight due to being ill and was deemed unfit to compete by medical doctors. Members of the MMA community reacted to the disappointing news as the UFC released a statement on Borg’s illness and the process of UFC 215 ticket refunds.

Russell Ess - September 8, 2017

The MMA community was struck with appalling news late Thursday. With less than 24 hours away from the UFC 215 weigh-ins, the main event UFC flyweight title fight between Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg was canceled. The cancellation, first reported by Ariel Helwani for MMA Fighting, was due to Borg being ill and deemed unfit to compete by medical doctors.

Russell Ess - September 7, 2017

The UFC 215 main event featuring Demetrious Johnson and Ray Borg has been canceled just days before the event is set to take place in Edmonton, Canada. Late Thursday, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported that Borg was forced out of the UFC flyweight title fight against Johnson due to illness. According to the report, Borg was fighting the illness this week and doctors deemed the UFC title challenger unfit to compete.

Justin Golightly - September 7, 2017

Demetrious Johnson is one win away from breaking Anderson Silva’s title defense record, the only man who stands in his way is Ray Borg. What “Mighty” Johnson has accomplished so far is unheard of in a sport where it’s usually very difficult to win consistently. For instance, in the heavyweight division, no champion in the history of the UFC has ever defended the heavyweight title three times in a row. If Demetrious Johnson beats Borg, he’ll have defended his title 11 times. Georges St-Pierre, former UFC welterweight champ and GOAT candidate, recently took time out to give Johnson some recognition. “Becoming champion is hard, but staying champion is even harder.” The legend @GeorgesStPierre w/ some words on @MightyMouseUFC #UFC215 pic.twitter.com/DINPuYF4OZ

Justin Golightly - September 6, 2017

Demetrious Johnson is one win away from making UFC history at UFC 215. He’ll be fighting Ray Borg for his potential 11th flyweight title defense, breaking a record previously set by Anderson Silva. In between fighting the best of the best in reality, he’s relaxing and relieving stress by playing video games like it’s his job. That’s not just a turn of phrase, Mighty Mouse has made his passion for gaming into a legit business by streaming from his Twitch account. Johnson vs Borg Embedded episode 2 is up!!! #UFC215 https://t.co/YIaqtQxGNv pic.twitter.com/OasN4t7YTn

Justin Golightly - September 5, 2017

We are just a couple of days from Demetrious Johnson trying to make history at UFC 215. In lieu of a fight with T.J. Dillashaw, Johnson wanted to continue his journey toward breaking Anderson Silva’s title defense record. He tied the record with 10 defenses after a dominating performance over Wilson Reis, now he looks to beat the impressive stat in his upcoming fight with Ray Borg. It would seem like the road to this record is paved in gold with a giant, neon sign pointing down to the finish line. However, Ray Borg isn’t counting himself out and neither should you. He’s confident enough to go on record saying he’ll give Johnson a rematch when he defeats him. “I’d take my niece to Disney Land, then I’d fight DJ again.” – Ray Borg if he wins at #UFC215 https://t.co/cdrpwfP9kY