Last night, in the main event of UFC on Fox 24, UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson – known by the ring name “Mighty Mouse” – made a whopping 10th straight defense of his title. He did so with a third-round, arm bar induced submission defeat of BJJ blackbelt Wilson Reis – an incredible feat in its own right.
With this win, Johnson further solidified his status as the best fighter currently competing in mixed martial arts. He also tied Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history, and as such, now has a real claim to the title of greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.).
At least, that’s what UFC President Dana White thinks. Addressing the media post-fight, the UFC boss explained his belief that Johnson is not only the pound-for-pound king, but a real contender for the G.O.A.T. title.
“He’s already the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and he strives to be better each time, and he gets better each time, literally destroying people,” White said (via MMAJunkie.com). “Yeah, this kid could be considered the G.O.A.T. right now, or to give Anderson Silva the true respect, you wait until he actually breaks the record. It’s hard to not call this guy the greatest of all time.”
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White also commented briefly on the challenges created by the dominance of fighters like Johnson and Silva – particularly that it becomes increasingly difficult to find them legitimate challenges. That said, the UFC President assured he’d find another solid challenge for Mighty Mouse’s next defense – which will give him the opportunity to break Silva’s title defense record.
“When you run through guys as long as these two have run through guys, yeah, [it’s hard to find credible opponents],” White said. “But I promise you, we’ll find somebody.”
Do you consider Demetrious Johnson the pound-for-pound king? Do you consider him the best fighter ever? Sound off, PENN Nation!
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/16/2017.