The great ones always stand out. Even from a young age, there’s always those kids that stand out in whatever they do. No matter what the sport is, someone will always excel and pass everyone else. Demetrious Johnson was one of those kids.
For“Mighty Mouse,” the sport literally didn’t matter. Johnson went to state in track, wrestling and cross-country. The guy started off his dominance as a child, taking names and breaking records for Washington High School in Parkland, Wash. The man people were considering possibly the greatest ever in our sport two weeks ago has come a long way from his humble beginnings in Washington.
The inaugural UFC flyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king has dominated the UFC flyweight division since 2012, holding the record for most consecutive title defenses. He’s compiled 11-straight victories inside the octagon since he’s become champion. As the years went by and the victories started to pile up, Mighty Mouse quickly saw his glory and recognition rise.
“Johnson has so many levels to his game, it’s so hard to keep up with his pace,” said Tyron Woodley. Those strikes weren’t all hard going against Borg. But he was tenderizing the steak, so when he went for the armbar, Borg was tired. It was an amazing finish. I think Johnson has a game plan and nothing rocks him off it. He’s flawless.”
The problem was while his glory and recognition were rising, his paychecks weren’t. Nor were the numbers as high as his popularity.
Many may claim the UFC flyweight division just hasn’t been the most exciting throughout the years or Demetrious just wasn’t the most marketable fighter but, at the end of the day, the UFC just did not do its part in promoting the guy and giving him the respect he deserved.
MMA is arguably the most brutal sport there is. The chances of a random variable springing up at any moment in a fighter’s career and setting it into a downward spiral is well above any other sport. All Johnson wants is to be paid the money not only he, but the UFC fight fans across the world, believe he deserves. However, all of this changed on Aug. 4, 2018 at UFC 227.
Johnson was set to earn his 12th straight title defense by securing the victory over former olympian Henry Cejudo for the second time around but Cejudo had different plans. He pushed the pace and controlled the center of the octagon against DJ for the majority of the fight, making DJ fight outside of his own game plan. Cejudo earned the nod in the eyes of the judges. he did what many deemed to be impossible and dethroned the flyweight king.
Where does that leave Demetrious in the history books?
First thing’s first: Johnson’s goal of being paid what he deserves is going to have to be pushed back even further as he just lost his belt and is no longer the champion of his division. His name value may have risen over the years, but he is definitely going to need his belt back before he can take any out of this world money fights. To make matters worse, the title of “greatest of all time” may no longer be within his grasp.
Some of you may wonder why because almost everyone suffers a loss at some point.
There’s this saying that goes, “people shouldn’t be defined by their losses but by how they bounce back from their losses.”
Well, that saying can’t be applied in the case of Demetrious Johnson unfortunately.
We need to look at who else is competing for this title to understand this notion. Guys like Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, Georges St. Pierre, etc. all have fought tougher opponents than DJ has. Sure, DJ has more title defenses and a longer streak on top of his division than those fighters do, but the difference in the skill of opponents fought between him and those names is astronomical.
I’m pretty sure guys like Ray Borg or Wilson Reis don’t hold the same value as an Alexander Gustafsson or Nick Diaz. DJ has not left the flyweight division since becoming champion, even ducking a super fight with TJ Dillashaw by saying he’s unsure if Dillashaw could make weight. The loss to Cejudo did more damage to DJ’s legacy than people think.
The guy wasn’t fighting world class level opponents to begin with. There’s no way he can maintain the title as the greatest mixed martial artist ever with a loss in the middle of his prime and an easy schedule together. The moral of the story is to be realistic in regards to Johnson’s legacy. We certainly can’t deny his greatness, but we can’t deny the greatness of other fighters as well.
