Demetrious Johnson may be the smallest UFC men’s champion but he made a case to stand taller than them all with his victory over John Dodson at UFC 191.
Mighty Mouse (appropriately named) has now cleared out his division and is on one of the most impressive title defense streaks the UFC has ever seen, 7. With Jon Jones being suspended indefinitely it may very well be time to give Mighty Mouse his just due and coin him the #1 P4P fighter in the world.
Last nights domination of John Dodson, who has previously TKO’d the 135 champion T.J.Dillashaw, was just the latest example of DJ’s greatness. He showed that he could keep up his relentless pace for 5 rounds and hardly break a sweat. By the 3rd round Dodson was visibly gassed and searching for ways to drain Johnson to no avail. Mighty Mouse snuck in his right hand at will and later used some nifty takedowns to put an exclamation point on a relatively easy fight. The UFC fans in attendance didn’t appreciate it, they began leaving at the end of the 4th round. Demetrious’ dominance is his own worst enemy because it makes it hard for the UFC to justify selling his PPVs to their audience.
At this very moment you could say that his performances are a lot more impressive than Jose Aldo, who’s been out of action for almost a year. Aldo will have a chance to reclaim the #1 spot with a win over Conor McGregor in December but that’s easier said than done. DJ on the other hand sits as the undisputed champion in his weight class, unlike Aldo who splits the title with Conor.
The best reason for not proclaiming DJ the world’s best is the inevitable return of Jon Jones. As we look at his run thru the light heavyweight division & the caliber of fighters in the heavy weight division, watch the Mir vs Arlovski fight from UFC 191, and it’s not farfetched to think Jones could be #1 LHW & #3 (at worst) HW in the world. Mighty Mouse couldn’t undoubtably say that he’s the best at 135lbs. Barao, Dillashaw, Faber & a few others would give him a run for his money at a higher weight. After what we saw of Cain Velasquez in his last fight it’s hard to say that Jon couldn’t be the first UFC dual champion.
With that being said Jones isn’t fighting. He’s as much of a MMA fighter today as the kid at Starbucks with the TapOut t-shirt. So, why not give Johnson his shine today? It doesn’t mean he has to be the #1 P4P fighter in the UFC u till he loses but considering the others ahead of him it’s hard to not put him a top the list.