KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Demetrious Johnson joked earlier this week that the UFC owes him nine more title belts, one for each time “Mighty Mouse” has successfully defended his flyweight championship.
Well, now Dana White and Co. owe him 10.
Johnson picked apart Brazilian challenger Wilson Reis before taking him down, catching him in an armbar and forcing him to submit Saturday night. The quick-as-blink, third-round victory moved Johnson into a tie with longtime middleweight king Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defense.
“I went back and did a lot of things different in this camp and this is the best I’ve felt,” Johnson said. “I think the crowd recognizes: I’m the best champ to ever step in this Octagon.”
Johnson (26-2-1) toyed with the third-ranked Reis (22-7) much of the first two rounds, peppering him with jabs and kicks before deftly slipping away from trouble. But after taking Reis down in the third, he quickly clamped down on an armbar and forced Reis to tap out at the 4:49 mark.
It was a stunning ending to the UFC’s debut in Kansas City given Reis’s jiu-jitsu pedigree.
“He looked incredible on his feet,” said White, the UFC’s president. “Then he goes to the ground and is absolutely dominating, and then he goes for the most dangerous move you could pull off.
(AP)
Johnson ties mark for UFC title defenses
KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Demetrious Johnson joked earlier this week that the UFC owes him nine more title belts, one for each time “Mighty Mouse” has successfully defended his flyweight championship.
Well, now Dana White and Co. owe him 10.
Johnson picked apart Brazilian challenger Wilson Reis before taking him down, catching him in an armbar and forcing him to submit Saturday night. The quick-as-blink, third-round victory moved Johnson into a tie with longtime middleweight king Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defense.
“I went back and did a lot of things different in this camp and this is the best I’ve felt,” Johnson said. “I think the crowd recognizes: I’m the best champ to ever step in this Octagon.”
Johnson (26-2-1) toyed with the third-ranked Reis (22-7) much of the first two rounds, peppering him with jabs and kicks before deftly slipping away from trouble. But after taking Reis down in the third, he quickly clamped down on an armbar and forced Reis to tap out at the 4:49 mark.
It was a stunning ending to the UFC’s debut in Kansas City given Reis’s jiu-jitsu pedigree.
“He looked incredible on his feet,” said White, the UFC’s president. “Then he goes to the ground and is absolutely dominating, and then he goes for the most dangerous move you could pull off.