Demetrious Johnson News

Justin Golightly - January 24, 2018

The UFC has been teasing that this 25th anniversary year is going to be huge. Going into 2018, it’s hard to imagine a big fight year without the superfight between Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw happening. It’s been teased even before Johnson broke Anderson Silva’s title defense record with a spectacular submission finish never before seen in the UFC. Dillashaw has already been training, the fight was falsely teased, both parties want it and the UFC needs it. So, why hasn’t it been finalized yet? Aside from recovering from shoulder surgery, it’s because Johnson wants the best possible scenario for him and his opponent. “It’s the superfight everyone wants. I think TJ [Dillashaw] and I are both on board. We just want to make sure it’s on a stacked card. We want to make sure we can benefit from a good pay-per-view buy. I think I deserve it and I think he deserves it. I’d rather have somebody else [be the] main event, who is going to bring in way more PPVs. In my opinion, that’s held up the fight on my end. I’ve seen guys jump on [stacked] PPV cards and make $1.5 million, fighting an inferior opponent than who I’m about to fight. Me and TJ could fight on a smaller card and pull 275,000 buys, get an extra check for $75,000. My management told me, ‘You know what, we’ll hold out for a big event.’ A lot of media and fans think that’s a way of turning down fights or ducking someone, but that’s a way of being a smart businessman and getting the most money you can get.”

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who owns the record for most consecutive title defenses of any champion in UFC history, is currently recovering from a surgery. That said, he’s already eyeing his next fight. While Johnson has expressed some disinterest in a potential fight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in the past, he seems to have come around. Speaking during a MetroPCS Q&A in the buildup to UFC 220, Johnson announced that he’s hoping to fight Dillashaw this July, on a big card in the midst of the UFC’s International Fight Week.

Justin Golightly - January 18, 2018

At UFC 216, Demetrious Johnson not only broke Anderson Silva’s title defense record, but did it with a German suplex-cancel into an armbar. He made history by breaking the record, but by possibly pulling off the most spectacular submission ever in the UFC. In classic humble fashion, Anderson Silva recently was asked about Johnson’s status as a potential greatest of all time candidate, a status that Silva also enjoys, and bowed out stating that Mighty Mouse is indeed the GOAT. “You know, Demetrious Johnson is the new champion. He’s the best one. I have my passion about my sport, and I love when I hear people talking about this. Demetrious, people need to respect [him] because he’s a great fighter. I think Demetrious [is the greatest of all time]. Absolutely, absolutely.” — Anderson Silva speaking to TMZ.

Justin Golightly - January 10, 2018

Every time Demetrious Johnson’s name has come up since his record-breaking performance, it has been paired with TJ Dillashaw. It seemed like negotiations were getting close, but he has recently dismissed the talk. We’ve known that the main speed bump was money, but it looks like there is another thing standing in the way. While things get figured out, Demetrious Johnson is going to be pulling a Tyron Woodley and repair himself from his demanding fight schedule. He goes in to have shoulder surgery today, which makes a return and the potential superfight between him and Dillashaw completely up in the air. UFC flyweight champ @MightyMouseUFC is undergoing shoulder surgery today. Timetable for return is TBD at this time.

Justin Golightly - January 4, 2018

After a false alarm leak, Demetrious Johnson released a statement saying that a Champ Champ fight with TJ Dillashaw still isn’t official yet. But hey, don’t tell Dillashaw that. He’s been training since early December now and is steamrolling ahead like the fight is tomorrow. This is a giant scrap for both fighters and could be one of the most high-level displays of MMA ever. TJ Dillashaw recently opened up about the match-up and the fact that it has a whole lot more on the line that just a belt. This is about legacy and the title of greatest of all time. “I’m looking to come in and dethrone [Demetrious Johnson] from his legacy. He won’t be able to call himself the GOAT anymore. It’s so easy for him to continue calling himself that and take the fights he thinks are a little easier. He’s a cerebral fighter. He and his coach are smart guys, and they know I bring the greatest threat. I think he knows that’s going to be a tough one for him to win. It’s frustrating, because I believe I should be a lot higher [pound-for-pound].”

Justin Golightly - January 3, 2018

What Demetrious Johnson has done is hard. Like, very hard. Look at all the titles that changed hands in 2017. Of course, Mighty Mouse wasn’t one of them. He hasn’t ever been one of them. For six years he hasn’t been beaten, collecting a history-making number of title defenses and surpassing Anderson Silva in the process. It’s one of the reasons he may be slowing down a little bit coming into 2018. The UFC flyweight champion only plans to defend his title twice this year. “That’s the plan, this year two fights. There comes a point in time, I was looking at my Wikipedia page and there were times where I fought four times in one year, I defended the belt three times in one year, got surgery between those title defenses. I think it’s safe to say that my goal is to get two title defenses this year and we will go from there. I’ll try to stay healthy and we will see then. […] You see champions all the time, they get the belt, then they go on a two-fight win streak and lose it. To be able to defend the belt from 2012 to 2017 and hopefully defend two more times in 2018, it’s extremely freaking hard.”

Tom Taylor - January 3, 2018

When examining the options for 2017’s Submission of the Year, there is one very clear frontrunner: the insane, flying armbar flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson locked up on Ray Borg back in October. It was the perfect display of just how breathtaking the grappling side of mixed martial arts can be. Speaking on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Johnson recounted the events that led to this insane submission win.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

UFC flyweight champ @MightyMouseUFC addresses recent rumors of him fighting T.J. Dillashaw that came out of Twitch stream. Watch #TheMMAHour LIVE: https://t.co/7soW7KTArj pic.twitter.com/iG6T44Qqiy — MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) January 2, 2018

Justin Golightly - December 27, 2017

There were no fights. Old Man Winter was nipping at everyone’s ears. The stockings were hung on the mantle. Hopefully, all the shopping was done and you were ready to sip hot cocoa with your loved ones and wait for Santa. That sounds like a great way to spend the holidays. However, some people spent it getting shot at by Demetrious Johnson. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Johnson hooked up with his Mighty Squad and hit PlayerUnknown’s Batllegrounds. From hiding behind doors playing a brutal version of a game from The Price is Right, to sniping people while sporting a Santa hat, Mighty Mouse had his share of literal hits and misses during his festive streams. The highlight of the video is his stand on the bridge, picking off players and they try and drive down it. That is, until he was ran over.

Justin Golightly - December 22, 2017

In just a matter of a couple of days, it was revealed by Dana White that Floyd Mayweather was in talks with the UFC. Demetrious Johnson and a slew of other fighters were frothing at the mouth in order to welcome him to the Octagon, but directly after that, Mayweather squashed the news and said it’s not happening. Of course, this same back-and-forth occurred during the negotiations for his boxing match with Conor McGregor, so you never know where the truth actually is until something happens or it doesn’t. None of that seems to matter to the ultra dominant UFC flyweight champ, who is daring Mayweather to actually follow through with this thing and meet him in the cage. “I think [a fight with Floyd Mayweather] would go very well for me, obviously. I’m very well-rounded. It’s mixed martial arts. I would even do a handicap. I won’t even grapple with him. I won’t even go to the ground at all. I’ll get him in the clinch, bang up, hit him in the liver, kick him in the liver, take out his legs and work him. I found out that news from my management team. They were like, ‘Dude, Floyd Mayweather’s coming to the UFC. Call him out and let’s get this fight.’ I was like that’s your job, my job is to train and go out there and win the fights.”

Justin Golightly - December 20, 2017

Next year, a huge fight is in the works. UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw is supposed to go down to fight UFC flyweight champion and title-defense king, Demetrious Johnson. It very well could be the most highly skilled MMA fighter in history if the UFC can pull it off. However, there is a fight that could be even bigger. Just imagine Floyd Mayweather stepping into the Octagon across from Mighty Mouse for a historic superfight only rivaled by Conor McGregor. It sounds absolutely insane and it will probably never happen in a million years, but remember when we said that before? @floydmayweather 🐐 vs 🐐 I’ll move up 20 pounds to welcome you proper pic.twitter.com/R400vMz0dX

Justin Golightly - December 19, 2017

With the insane year that we’ve had in combat sports, it’s easy to forget that Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson and TJ Dillashaw seem to actually be headed towards one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Dana White said it was happening after UFC 218, while Johnson himself even said the only thing preventing it would be money at this point. Either way, Dillashaw is already training hard for the long, 10-pound trip down to flyweight. Duane Ludwig recently was interviewed and is confident that they will have the upper hand in the superfight. “I’ve already [spent time studying Demetrious Johnson]. There’s already notes and footage of game plans. I’ve dedicated my life to martial arts since the age of eight, this is what I do for 31 years. It’s very fascinating and super fun for me to do this and it’s already done and I’ll continue to do more of it but Demetrious Johnson has already been broken down and we feel that we have the upper hand in that fight. That’s for sure.”

Tom Taylor - December 4, 2017

On the heels of Dana White announcing TJ vs DJ next, TJ Dillashaw is bringing his body weight down over a 20 week period and trying to lose 6.4lbs of muscle to make Flyweight. pic.twitter.com/KT4NSTYXjx — Justin Golightly (@SecretMovesMMA) December 4, 2017

Chris Taylor - December 2, 2017

UFC President Dana White says a super fight between UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and T.J. Dillashaw is one hundred percent happening. The brash UFC boss caught up with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC 218 event in Detroit where he broke the news.

Justin Golightly - December 2, 2017

Stretch your hands, crack your knuckles and wrap your thumbs, a new UFC game from EA Sports is dropping soon. Luckily, you don’t have to wait until it releases in February, you can now download the open beta for PS4 and XBOX and train before the real fight day comes. If you get good enough, you could even log on and try to test your skills against the UFC flyweight champion himself. Demetrious Johnson just got the beta and has been playing against his fans online. The virtual Octagon is the only place where the man has suffered a loss in six years. “My wife was like, ‘You should get into [streaming on Twitch] baby, what do you want to do after you’re done fighting? Why don’t you try streaming?’ Then Twitch reached out to me and told me everything I needed to get to be a serious streamer. All of the credit goes to my wife, she’s the one who suggested I do it. I decided if I was going to do it, I had to be 100-percent in. I didn’t want to do it half-assed and try to stream from my PS4 or Xbox One, so I bought a computer and she was all in, so I was like, ‘Let’s do it.”

Justin Golightly - December 2, 2017

It’s UFC 217 all over again with tonight’s UFC 218. The card is stacked from top to bottom and all the fighters are going to be fighting for the spotlight. Not to be left in the dark underneath the ridiculous main and co-main events, Henry Cejudo will fight Sergio Pettis in what is sure to be a lightning blitz of a battle. Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has said himself the the scrap between (#2) Cejudo and (#4) Pettis is for the number one contender spot. However, what if the superfight with TJ Dillashaw goes down? No problem, says Pettis. He’s actually willing to step aside and wait until Johnson finishes his business. “I’m 24 years old, I’m getting better and better, and if they want me to fight again before a title, I’m good with that. I’m building my resume, getting some money on top of it and getting some experience. TJ [Dillashaw] vs. [Demetrious Johnson], that’s an interesting fight, even for me. I’m a fan of the sport. It’s entertainment and it makes sense. It’s part of the business. I have no hatred towards that. I understand it. If they want me to build my resume and get to that DJ shot, I will. If I have a great performance against Henry Cejudo, maybe I can get there.”

Justin Golightly - November 17, 2017

After reclaiming his UFC bantamweight title from Cody Garbrandt at UFC 217, TJ Dillashaw only has his sights set on one fighter: Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson. He’s arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter right now, a dominant flyweight champion, and has just broken Anderson Silva’s title-defense record with a move out of a comic book. A fight like this could be one of the most elite MMA fights of all time. It’s a no brainer that Dillashaw wants to make the fight happen, especially since it was in the works before Johnson’s last defense against Ray Borg. Coach and MMA legend Duane ‘Bang’ Ludwig recently opened up more about the potential fight. “We were en route to fight Demetrious [Johnson] at one point and the direction he was taking with his strength and conditioning coach, TJ [Dillashaw] was looking phenomenal on the mitts and the sparring and the training and he looked good, his spirits were good. So, obviously we didn’t make 125 and fight and compete, but when were were en route of that, nothing really changed. TJ’s not a big ‘35er, so he can make ‘25. It’s not going to be easy, but he’s the most dedicated person that I’ve ever seen. He really is. I think it needs to happen.”

Tom Taylor - November 8, 2017

Having reclaimed the UFC bantamweight title with a second-round knockout of Cody Garbrandt, TJ Dillashaw is now hell-bent on a flyweight title fight with dominant divisional king Demetrious Johnson – perhaps the best fighter alive today. “Demetrious can’t run from this one,” Dillashaw said shortly after he defeated Garbrandt to reclaim the bantamweight title. “This one’s too big. (Johnson) broke his (title-defense) record. He got to pad himself and break his record. Now, let’s make some money.”