5 times Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson was in trouble in the UFC
There’s a pretty strong argument to be made at this stage that Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson is the best fighter in the history of MMA, period. If he can beat Henry Cejudo this weekend at UFC 227 to defend his UFC Flyweight title, not only will he be closing in on six years with the belt, but he’ll also have set another new record for successive title defences with 12.
Johnson has seemingly been untouchable for longer than almost any other fighter, but Cejudo should take heart from the fact that some others have had success against ‘Mighty Mouse’ – even if they ended up losing in the end. Here are 5 times that Johnson was in trouble in the Octagon.
Honourable Mention: vs. Dominick Cruz, UFC on Versus 6 – 10/01/11
‘Mighty Mouse’ suffered his only UFC defeat to then-Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz at UFC on Versus 6 in what was an unsuccessful title challenge for him prior to the Flyweight division being introduced to the promotion. But it was a fascinating fight as Cruz never came close to finishing Johnson and essentially just managed to outpoint the future legend.
At no point did Johnson look in real danger, and in the end it was largely Cruz’s size that allowed him to win out using his grappling, as the striking exchanges in the fight were basically even. So while he was clearly beaten, this fight can’t count towards a list of moments that saw ‘Mighty Mouse’ in trouble.
#1 vs. Miguel Torres, UFC 130 – 05/28/11
This was the win that netted Johnson his Bantamweight title match with Dominick Cruz, but in reality, former WEC champ Torres probably did enough to take the decision, as all three judges seemed more swayed by Mighty Mouse’s takedowns and time on top than they were with Torres’s myriad sweeps and submission attempts. In the end, Johnson took a unanimous decision with all three judges going 29-28.
Torres though had Johnson in trouble on numerous occasions throughout the fight. He attempted chokes, leglocks and guillotines in the first round, had Mighty Mouse caught in a kimura and an inverted triangle choke in the second round, and then hit a sweep into full mount in the third round, although he couldn’t capitalise on the position.
None of the submission attempts came truly close to finishing Johnson, but this fight remains one of the only examples of the current Flyweight kingpin being forced largely into a defensive game plan from start to finish – and probably should’ve marked his first UFC loss.