Demetrious Johnson Chasing Anderson Silva's Record
Demetrious Johnson Chasing Anderson Silva's Record
By Tony ReidAt UFC 197, Demetrious Johnson continued his sheer domination of the UFC flyweight division by knocking off Olympic gold medalist and previously
By Tony Reid
At UFC 197, Demetrious Johnson continued his sheer domination of the UFC flyweight division by knocking off Olympic gold medalist and previously undefeated Henry Cejudo with an Anderson Silva-esque clinch game, vicious knees and some serious body work that crumpled the challenger just 2:49 into the contest.
In a post-fight interview, Cejudo said he underestimated the clinch of the mightiest mouse in the UFC. Henry even went as far to say he was humbled that night. That performance, coupled with a somewhat lackluster showing from the other man considered in the No. 1 pound-for-pound rankings (now UFC Light Heavyweight interim champion Jon Jones) that night, Johnson might have cemented his spot further as the P4P king.
When asked about the mythical ranking, he wasn’t too concerned.
“I try not to get into that pound-for-pound-king thing because it changes every day," Johnson said "People are going to have their thoughts and views of me and Jon Jones. I think it’s awesome that people see me as that. I know where I stand and that’s all that matters. I think Jones looked great. OSP is no joke. He is a big, athletic guy who took the fight on short notice. I think Jones fought to the best of his abilities coming off his long break. He had a lot more muscle on him. He has to adjust from being out of the Octagon for a year and a half.”
When the champion landed that vicious knee just over two minutes into the action, he knew the tide had turned and the end was near.
“Once I hit him with the knee to the body and I saw his body just recoil and not want it anymore, I saw how he was just letting me have his head. We saw it before. We knew people got ahold of his head before but they didn’t have the clinch game that I do. I was like, OK, we have seen this before and I am just going to keep going for it until I get it.”
Much has been made of that gold medal Cejudo owns.
“Everybody in the media, everybody and their mother and grandmother talked about and were in awe of the gold medal," Johnson said. "For me, it was like, Dude you won one tournament that got you that gold medal. And that tournament was almost ten years ago. Many of us, we don’t care about our opponent’s resumes. In doing research one of my coaches asked me if I knew how many Olympic gold medals there are. The number was something over 5,000. There are so many gold medals in the world. Then he asked me how many UFC Flyweight champions there have been and the answer is one.”
After the win at UFC 197, his incredible streak runs to eight straight title defenses and 11 straight wins overall. There exists the idea that Silva’s record of 10 straight title defenses is toward the top of the list of goals for the only champion the flyweight division has ever known.
“I would say so," Johnson said. "That is a goal for me. If I could accomplish that it would be amazing. That’s something to shoot for. Why not? Why not try to set a new one? I would like to set it so high that when I am dead and gone, perished in the grave that people are still striving to beat it. We will see how well we do. It’s not just about beating people, it’s also about staying healthy. Getting that record is definitely part of my goal.”
At UFC 197, Demetrious Johnson continued his sheer domination of the UFC flyweight division by knocking off Olympic gold medalist and previously undefeated Henry Cejudo with an Anderson Silva-esque clinch game, vicious knees and some serious body work that crumpled the challenger just 2:49 into the contest.
In a post-fight interview, Cejudo said he underestimated the clinch of the mightiest mouse in the UFC. Henry even went as far to say he was humbled that night. That performance, coupled with a somewhat lackluster showing from the other man considered in the No. 1 pound-for-pound rankings (now UFC Light Heavyweight interim champion Jon Jones) that night, Johnson might have cemented his spot further as the P4P king.
When asked about the mythical ranking, he wasn’t too concerned.
“I try not to get into that pound-for-pound-king thing because it changes every day," Johnson said "People are going to have their thoughts and views of me and Jon Jones. I think it’s awesome that people see me as that. I know where I stand and that’s all that matters. I think Jones looked great. OSP is no joke. He is a big, athletic guy who took the fight on short notice. I think Jones fought to the best of his abilities coming off his long break. He had a lot more muscle on him. He has to adjust from being out of the Octagon for a year and a half.”
When the champion landed that vicious knee just over two minutes into the action, he knew the tide had turned and the end was near.
“Once I hit him with the knee to the body and I saw his body just recoil and not want it anymore, I saw how he was just letting me have his head. We saw it before. We knew people got ahold of his head before but they didn’t have the clinch game that I do. I was like, OK, we have seen this before and I am just going to keep going for it until I get it.”
Much has been made of that gold medal Cejudo owns.
“Everybody in the media, everybody and their mother and grandmother talked about and were in awe of the gold medal," Johnson said. "For me, it was like, Dude you won one tournament that got you that gold medal. And that tournament was almost ten years ago. Many of us, we don’t care about our opponent’s resumes. In doing research one of my coaches asked me if I knew how many Olympic gold medals there are. The number was something over 5,000. There are so many gold medals in the world. Then he asked me how many UFC Flyweight champions there have been and the answer is one.”
After the win at UFC 197, his incredible streak runs to eight straight title defenses and 11 straight wins overall. There exists the idea that Silva’s record of 10 straight title defenses is toward the top of the list of goals for the only champion the flyweight division has ever known.
“I would say so," Johnson said. "That is a goal for me. If I could accomplish that it would be amazing. That’s something to shoot for. Why not? Why not try to set a new one? I would like to set it so high that when I am dead and gone, perished in the grave that people are still striving to beat it. We will see how well we do. It’s not just about beating people, it’s also about staying healthy. Getting that record is definitely part of my goal.”