Demetrious Johnson gives his take on who’s next after UFC 216

This Saturday, in the co-main event of the star-studded UFC 216, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will attempt to make a record-breaking 11th-straight defense of his title opposite Ray Borg. If Demetrious Johnson achieves this history-making 11th title defense, it will of course be very exciting. It will, however, also raise a very interesting question: who the hell does he fight next?

Having essentially cleaned out his division, Johnson is now running very low on viable title challengers. Luckily, he’s got a few ideas for possible options down the line.

The most likely candidate, he thinks is the winner of UFC 218’s Sergio Pettis vs. Henry Cejudo clash. In his mind, Pettis is probably the more likely choice.

“I think Sergio Pettis has more of style that will give Henry Cejudo fits because he’s been around the block a little more,” Johnson said at UFC 216 media luncheon (via MMAJunkie). “It’ll be a good fight. I think (the winner is next in line). Obviously Henry Cejudo just came back and got in the winner column. Pettis, he’s on a three-fight win streak, and if he wins this fight, I think he’s the No. 1 contender in the flyweight division. He has four fights in a row.”

Johnson also believes Magomed Bibulatov could be a potential future flyweight title challenger.

“I can’t think of another athlete – maybe Magomed Bibulatov,” Johnson said. “I can’t think of how many he has in a row, but we’ll see what happens.”

And then of course, there’s the possibility of a return to the bantamweight division for scraps with opponents like Cody Garbrandt, TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz. Apparently, however, Johnson is considering attempting a 12th and even 13th defense of his title.

““It’s always staying healthy, always improving and trying to go out there and finish my opponents,” he said. “I’m passing all my drug tests. If I get past this, number 11, and I’m healthy, I can do another one – maybe 12 or 13 – then we’ll go from there.”

Who do you want to see Demetrious Johnson fight if he gets by Ray Borg this weekend?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/3/2017.