Date of birth: 08/13/1986
Height:160cm
Weight: 57 kg

Demetrius Johnson is a famous American mixed martial artist. He participated in many MMA fights, became the UFC champion, performing in the flyweight division. Takes third place in the ranking of the corresponding weight category within the UFC.

Biography of Demetrius Johnson

An outstanding athlete was born in Kentucky, USA on August 13, 1986. Demetrius was a student at Parkland Washington High School where he wrestled. He took part in state sports championships.

Your career in professional sports Demetrius got his start in 2007 when he knocked out his opponent in the first round in his debut fight. He also participated in several other local tournaments and won eight fights in a row. Then he received an invitation from the WEC, and had his debut fight in April 2010. His opponent was Brad Pickett, although Johnson showed excellent kickboxing, he lost this fight by unanimous decision of the judges.

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Already in September of the same year, he had the opportunity to rehabilitate and face off against Clint Godfrey as part of the WEC 51 tournament. But Godfrey was forced to withdraw from the fight and his place was taken by Nick Pace, whom Johnson easily won. Even through the WEC, he was able to defeat Damasio Page. The fight lasted until the third round, and in the first round Page was clearly superior to Johnson, but having gathered strength into a fist, the American fighter seized the initiative and defeated the enemy in the third round. After this victory, Demetrius signs a contract with the famous American organization UFC. After signing the contract, Johnson holds a series of fights with famous fighters, such as:

• Norifumi Yamamoto;
• Miguel Torres;
• Dominic Cruz;
• Eddie Vinland;
• Ian McCall.

Fights with these fighters led Johnson to the final, in which he faced Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012. Johnson won the bout on points to become the lightweight champion.

After taking the championship belt, the American fighter faced off in the ring with John Dodson. The fight was not easy, and Johnson almost lost it, but, ultimately, the judges awarded him the victory.

Johnson's fights with John Moraga were quite interesting. The first fight took place on April 13, 2013, but the fight was not completed and was rescheduled for July 27, 2013. The fight lasted five rounds, and throughout all the rounds Moraga dominated, by the end of the fight, Johnson was able to pull out the victory and defended his champion title for the second time. For the third time, Demetrius defended the championship title by defeating Joseph Benavidez. In June 2014, he defended his championship by defeating Ali Bagautinov. And finally, in a duel with Chris Cariaso, he became a five-time UFC lightweight champion.

Personal life

Demetrius Johnson had a rather difficult childhood, he lived with his mother and stepfather, who did not show much love for a non-native child. He never saw his own father. He considers his wife the brightest person in his life, and claims that without her his life would not be complete. On May 11, 2012, the couple officially registered their relationship, and already in July 2013 they had a child.

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Dimetrius Krishna Johnson

American MMA fighter. The first UFC flyweight champion. Made eight title defenses. Known for fast striking technique, elusive, elusive movement. The only fighter in the promotion to have more than ten takedowns in three different bouts.

Youth

Born in Kentucky, grew up in Parkland (Washington, USA), where he attended high school Washington and was engaged in wrestling, bicycle racing on the track and cross country. He took third and second places in regional competitions while studying at school. He took up cycling to improve his cardio in wrestling and competed at the state level in both sports.

He began his professional career in MMA in 2007 and won his debut fight by knockout in the first round. Appeared in various shows, won eight fights, five of them in a row by submission. He fought under the auspices of the Alaska Fighting Championships and knocked out an opponent with a kick to the head. As a result of this victory, he was signed to a WEC contract.

He made his bantamweight debut against Brad Pickett in the spring of 2010. Johnson showed good kickboxing but failed to defend against Pickett's takedowns and lost by decision. Joe Rogan predicted during this fight that at flyweight, which the WEC had not yet introduced, Johnson would be much more impressive.

Johnson was scheduled to fight Clint Godfrey in September, but he was knocked off the card and replaced by rookie Nick Pace, whom Johnson defeated by decision.

Also defeated Damasio Page in the third round by submission. Page took the upper hand in the first round but ran out of steam, and Johnson regained control in the second, followed by a guillotine choke in the third.

In October, the WEC merged with the UFC, the fighters were transferred under the auspices of the latter. Johnson fought Japanese star Norifumi Yamamoto in February: the American blocked takedowns in two rounds, controlling the fight and taking the victory by decision.

Johnson was scheduled to fight Renan Barao in May, but Johnson fought Miguel Torres as Torres' opponent Brad Pickett was injured and pulled out of the card. In the showdown, Johnson broke his fibula early in the second round due to a kick, but used the lead on the ground, taking a decision despite the fact that the opponent had held the full mount position six times.

Fought Dominick Cruz at bantamweight and gave the fight a decision.

There were rumors that Johnson would meet in the ring with Eddie Wineland, but Johnson entered the bantamweight championship.

He fought Ian McCall in the spring of 2012 in the first bantamweight division fight in UFC history. The fight was three rounds, Johnson prevailed in the opinion of the majority of the judges, but promotion president Dana White announced a mistake, the fight ended in a draw.

A rematch with McCall took place in June, this time Johnson won the victory unanimously.

In the fall of 2012, Johnson fought Joseph Benavidez in the final of the bantamweight division tournament and celebrated the victory by split decision, winning the UFC bantamweight championship regalia.

Fought John Dodson in early 2013 in the main event of the tournament. Dodson kept up with the speed of the opponent, laid him on the floor twice with left punches, but Johnson regained control of the fight and almost knocked out the opponent in the fifth round. The victory went to Johnson by decision. Both fighters received the "Battle of the Tournament" bonus.

The matchmakers were going to set up a fight between Johnson and Jon Moraga in April during the show The Ultimate Fighter, but Johnson was injured. The battle with Moraga was postponed to July. At the entrance of the fight, Johnson controlled all five rounds and won by armbar at the end of the fight. For the first time in his career, he received the "Submission of the Tournament" award.

A rematch with Benavidez was expected in November during the reality show The Ultimate Fighter. Johnson won decisively by knockout in the first round, becoming the first to stop Benavidez. Received the "Knockout of the Tournament" bonus.

He fought Ali Bagautinov in June 2014, unanimously defending the title for the fourth time, despite the fact that the opponent tested positive for erythropoietin before the fight. Bagautinov was excluded from the competition for a year.

Chris Cariaso became Johnson's next opponent in September. Johnson prevailed in two rounds with a kimura submission.

Destroying the dreams of one contender for the championship belt, Johnson repeated the victory - over Kyoji Horiguchi, the fight was almost one-sided, the champion held the belt with a submission arm in the fifth round. The fight was marked with the "Show Tournament" bonus.

The rematch with Dodson took place in September 2015, Johnson again sealed the victory by decision in a one-sided fight.

Gold Olympic medalist Henry Cejudo became Johnson's next opponent and was defeated by technical knockout in the first round, having managed, however, to deliver many blows. Johnson received his second Show of the Tournament bonus for the fight.

In July, Johnson was injured at training camp and was unable to compete against Wilson Reis scheduled for July 2016.

Johnson next spoke in December and unanimously won the victory.

Fighting style

Known as one of the fastest fighters in MMA, also for his ability to land quick strikes fists and kicks to the head or body, and then instantly break the distance. Inflicts counterattacks while in the pocket.

except percussion technique, Johnson is known for his jiu-jitsu skills, which he used to finish the fight more than once. In the clinch, he uses Muay Thai skills, combining elbows and knees.

Personal life

Johnson had a rough childhood, born two months premature to a deaf mother and an abusive stepfather. Never met his biological father. Destiny Johnson, whom he married in 2012, helped him move forward. The couple have two sons Tyren (2013) and Maverick (2015).

Major titles

UFC Flyweight Champion

Nine UFC title defenses

Champion UFC tournament flyweight

Bonus "Battle of the Tournament" (twice)

Tournament Submission Bonus

Tournament Knockout Bonus

After the injury of Cody Garbrandt (11-0), TJ Dillashaw (14-3) began to actively lobby for the idea of ​​his fight with Demetrius Johnson (26-2). The former champion is ready to come down in weight for the big fight. This idea appealed to Dana White, who was rumored to have made an attempt to arrange a fight in August. But the idea did not please the Mighty Mouse. Demetrius previously stated that such a fight is not a "super fight" as TJ is no longer the champion in his weight. Johnson himself is waiting for a contract to fight Ray Borg (11-2).

In a recent interview with Dana White, "Mouse" doesn't want to fight Dillashaw, calling the position "crazy". The UFC president is surprised that Johnson is turning down the opportunity to take part in the first PPV night and "really big fight." White has nothing against Ray Borg, but believes that the candidacy of the former UFC champion looks more preferable. Dana confirmed that if TJ comes down in weight, he will become a contender for title fight with Demetrius, if he wants to. White added that "Mouse" does not organize fights, and the UFC intends to organize this fight no matter what. According to the President, Dillashaw has already begun to drive weight.

Today Johnson, breaking the information space. Demetrius gave the full picture of the UFC's negotiation and subterfuge in an uncharacteristic critique of the organization. "Mouse" remembered everything to the bosses - poor promotion, lack of interest from PPV battles and much more. Your attention is the full text of Johnson's message.

« For many years I was a man of the company and silent, accepting any fights. I did everything that was asked of me, always remaining humble and grateful for the opportunities that were given to me. mixed martial arts. This sport brought me up that way. Unfortunately, the bad attitude from the UFC and their threats forced me to finally speak out. I have decided to speak out now because I feel that my dignity and reputation, as an ordinary person and as a fighter, can be tarnished by the organization. An organization for which I have shed so much sweat and blood for the last seven years of my life. If I am required to express my opinion, thereby motivating the rest of the fighters to unite and start fighting for a fair distribution of income, then so be it.

UFC Matchmaker Mick Maynard that I have no choice, it will be Borg not Pettis. There is no other option. It was the team of Dana White and company. It meant that my only chance to get on the PPV, as a flyweight fighter, was to fight Ray Borg. I said "OK" but it wasn't really fair because I have a good chance to fight on PPV after Cody Garbrandt said he wants to come down in weight and fight me, I would love that fight.

We told Mick that it would be fair for me to accept the Borg fight but get a PPV percentage from future fights at my weight. Mick agreed and said that it would be really fair and he did not see any problems in this situation. A little later, Maynard spoke with Sean Shelby and Dana White. They rejected the idea of ​​my flyweight PPV percentages. Besides, I was left with no other options, only a fight with the Borg with no choice. I accepted this fight and decided to deal with the disgusting attitude from Shelby and White after I break the title defense record. Mick thanked me for taking the fight in this situation and with this attitude from Dana and Sean.

I wanted to be told the reason why I will not receive pay-per-view payments in the future. Sean Shelby called me and explained that small fighters do not sell well, and the UFC cannot make a star out of any of us. Sean said that my fight with Cody would not be for sale. I did not agree with this. I think the Garbrandt fight will be in demand if it gets a fraction of the marketing effort that other big fights put into it.

The UFC failed to promote me properly. Until my last fight, where I broke the belt defense record, we were hoping for enough reposts from social networks UFC, from their Facebook page. None of this happened - the posts appeared a few days before the fight in the week of the fight. Two posts. Compared to other fighters that they actively promote on social media and media platforms, they didn't do their job of promoting me at such a momentous moment for me. In my recent conversation with Dana and Sean, it was confirmed to me that the UFC has no plans to make an effort to promote me.

Also, I want to point out the issue of promoting the entire flyweight division, even though Dana claims otherwise. I'm willing to bet that UFC marketing doesn't apply to our division. For 3 years, 3 new divisions appeared in the UFC, for two years (from 2012 to 2014) the organization focused all its marketing efforts on the growth of women's MMA. I understand it. But three years have passed since the opening of these divisions, but the company continues to do a minimum in terms of marketing for others. weight categories. As a fighter, I keep a close eye on the progress of my fights. I can say that it is quite difficult to find any effort in what has been done for my promotion, outside of TUF 24. And even these efforts, in comparison with other fighters, fights and seasons, were minimal. The UFC chooses not to promote me as the best fighter in the world and perhaps one of the greatest fighters in history. I can't imagine others sports organizations in the world who will sacrifice best player in their league or in their sport, and will not try to sell more of their product at the expense of his name. look at my achievement list, look at my list of stoppage wins, look at my list of bonuses for the best performances of the evening. Ask yourself if the UFC really couldn't sell my fights if they put deprivation dollars into my promotion?

It's completely unrelated, but after I took the Borg fight, Cody Garbrandt got a back injury and TJ Dillashaw said he wanted to fight me. Dana told me he wanted me to fight him. But I did not agree and I had several reasons. First, Dillashaw has never fought at flyweight and is unlikely to make the weight. If he doesn't make weight, I won't be able to break the record for most title defenses. Secondly, I was told that my fight with Garbrandt would not be for sale, so the fight with TJ would also not be profitable. Thirdly, Dillashaw is not a champion and was knocked out by a guy I beat twice. After all, I had already agreed to the fight with Ray Borg, which the UFC demanded so much, depriving me of the opportunity to receive PPV percentages.

After I shared my thoughts with Dana, he angrily told me that I would fight TJ. Again, no other options, despite my career and what we talked about before. He said that if I didn't fight Dillashaw and rejected the Borg fight, he would get rid of the entire flyweight division. He said it was for T.J. that I was taking his chance away from him. The fact that Dana thinks I should do something in my career for T.J. speaks volumes about White's priorities.

I'm sorry, Dana, but this is Demetrius Johnson's career and my goals are to fight the best flyweights; break the title defense record; fight the bantamweight champion (Garbrandt - approx .. My career was not built for Dana's sidekick, who is neither a bantamweight champion nor a flyweight title contender.

In the end, I did not agree to this fight. The next day, Dana went to the media and said that I didn't want to fight Dillashaw, obviously trying to pressure or intimidate me, possibly ruining my reputation. I released a short statement letting the fans know that I did not agree to fight TJ, but had already agreed to fight Borg as required by the UFC.

In an interview, Dana talked about how my reluctance to fight TJ is “crazy”, about the fact that he is the one who does the fights, and this is the fight that he wants to have. He made it look like I was afraid or avoiding a fight with Dillashaw.

Mick talked to me, trying to change the opponent from Ray to TJ. I told him that Dillashaw, I think, needs at least one fight in the flyweight division to prove that he can make weight and win here. After that, he can fight me if I'm not busy with Cody by then. The matchmaker thought it made sense.

Later, Mick called again. On Dana's instructions, he asked me to fight TJ and cancel the Ray agreement. I told him that we were afraid that TJ would not make weight and the fight would not be a title fight, because of which I would not be able to break the title defense record. Meek said he would guarantee that Dillashaw would make the weight. I told him that if he gives me such guarantees, and TJ and the UFC are so picky and put me in such an uncomfortable position, then it would be fair to do the following - if TJ does not make weight, the fight will be canceled and I will receive my guaranteed fee and T.J.'s guaranteed fee. Mick said that Borg would be on the same card and, if anything, he could replace Dillashaw if he didn't make weight. I asked him who exactly should I prepare for? After all, he just guaranteed that T.J. would make weight.

This is a fight between the best promotion in the world and the first number in the ranking of the best fighters in the world or amateur tournament where I don't know who will be the opponent until I arrive at the fight? Obviously there were no guarantees, they just wanted to force me to do something that would be wrong for my career. And they knew it. Their "guarantees" meant nothing, and they did not want to vouch for the fact that they would reimburse me for the damage received during training camp for a fight that may not take place. The fact that Ray Borg is going to be a stand-in shows a lack of respect for what we go through in preparation for fights at this level.

Mick returned with Dane and Shownu, talked to them, then told me that they did not agree with my request, and I had to fight TJ without guarantees and without financial "insurance" if Dillashaw could not make the weight. This is a typical broken promise and a natural mockery that accompanies my entire career in the UFC.

Summarize:

• Demetrius agreed to their peremptory demands to fight Ray Borg. Ray Borg also agreed.
• The UFC refused to give him PPV percentages in any future flyweight bouts. Previously, they also did not give PPV interest. Dee Jay's request was fair, and the division matchmaker agreed with it.
• Johnson offered fair terms to the UFC for the Dillashaw fight to take place, but they refused.
• Dana and Sean said they were not interested in promoting DJ and promoting the "small" divisions. They say "Mouse" will get PPV money from the Dillashaw fight but overlook the fact that there are a certain number of sales that need to be made that can't be made if they don't promote Demetrius properly like they did in his past fights. .
• If TJ doesn't make weight, Johnson won't be able to break the record for most title defenses. But he is refused to pay in this situation. Dana presses him through the media to get what he wants, not what is best for the fighter or the sport.
• A track record is not enough to advance fights.

Last weekend, UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrius Johnson defeated Wilson Reis by submission in the third round to successfully defend his title for the tenth time. Therefore, the indicator caught up with Anderson Silva. If Johnson wins the next fight, he will become the record holder.

On the this moment"The Mighty Mouse" (Johnson's nickname - ed.) ranks first in the ranking of the best fighters in the world, regardless of weight categories.

"Soviet Sport" decided to remember the milestones of Demetrius Johnson's career: from the first fight at the AXFC tournament to the victorious one at UFC on Fox 24.

Childhood

Johnson was born on August 13, 1986 in Madisonville (Kentucky, USA). When he was in school, he was actively involved in athletics and wrestling. In his youth, he managed to win prizes in the US wrestling championships.

The beginning of a career in MMA

Johnson made his first MMA fight at GF in 2006. It was an amateur fight and Demetrius defeated Oren Ulrich by TKO in the first round. In 2009, Johnson had another amateur fight. In the third round, our hero defeated Lupe Hadgens at the ROTR tournament by submission.

Johnson made his professional MMA debut on April 28, 2007 against fellow debutant Brandon Feeds. The fight took place as part of the AXFC 16 tournament and ended with Demetrius' victory by knockout in the 17th second of the first round.

In the next nine fights, Johnson also celebrated victories, and in seven of them - ahead of schedule.

April 24, 2010 "Mighty Mouse" took part in the WEC48 tournament, in main battle whom Aldo fought against Fiber. Johnson's opponent was Brad Pickett, who was an outsider. However, Johnson suffered an unexpected loss by unanimous decision. But despite the failure, it was at that tournament that he forced the attention of the UFC scouts, who still tracked the results of Demetrius throughout the year.

Signing with the UFC

After the first defeat in his career and before signing a contract with the UFC, Johnson managed to win two more victories: over Nick Pace and Damakio Page.

On February 5, 2011, Demetrius entered the octagon of the strongest league in the world for the first time and defeated the Japanese Norifumi Yamamoto by unanimous decision. Already in May, Johnson received a second fight. The opponent was Miguel Torres, with whom Johnson spent all three rounds and emerged victorious.

On October 1 of the same year, Johnson suffered his first and last defeat in the UFC. He got the chance to fight for the bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz. That duel went badly for Demetrius. Following the results of five rounds, he lost on points and decided to go down to the lightest division.

The UFC decided to hold a mini-tournament in this weight to determine the champion. In the first semi-final, Johnson met with Ian McCall and their fight ended in a draw. I had to hold a rematch, in which Demetrius won by unanimous decision of the judges.

In the final of the tournament (September 22, 2012), he defeated Joseph Benavidez by split decision and since then, Demetrius Johnson has dominated the flyweight division for five years. He made ten successful defenses.

John Dodson (twice), John Moraga, Joseph Benavidez, Ali Bagautinov, Chris Caryaso, Kuoji Horiguchi, Henry Sejudo, Tim Elliot, Wilson Reis... None of these fighters could take the title from Johnson. And in the near future, most likely, no one will be able to do this.

The UFC is looking around the world for promising fighters in this division, so that at least someone shoots, so that competition appears. This year, a possible future worthy competitor for Johnson has already made his debut in the organization - Russian Magomed Bibulatov, who previously became a champion in such organizations as ACB, WSOF and WFCA.

Despite the fact that Johnson is currently the best fighter in the world outside the weight categories, he is still not as interesting to the viewer as Conor McGregor, who knows how and loves to arrange bright scandalous shows. And for fights he gets ten times less than an Irishman. So for the last fight he received 400 thousand dollars, while Conor even received many times more for losing the fight to Nate Diaz.

Many people think that Demetrius is one of the most boring champions in UFC history, but the fight against Wilson Reis showed that this is not the case.