As Demetrious Johnson looks to close out another chapter, one of MMA’s greatest fighters reflects on his biggest rivalries.
Johnson, the former UFC 125-pound champion and current ONE flyweight champ, has fought Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, and Henry Cejudo twice throughout his career. Johnson has now become good friends and training partners with Cejudo, but if he could pick a favorite rivalry, it’s Dodson.
Johnson defended his title twice against Dodson – once in 2013 and another time in 2015. He won both fights by unanimous decision, but with the power Dodson possessed as a 125-pounder, “Mighty Mouse” admits he was a dance partner that kept him on his toes.
“I’d probably say Dodson,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio. “I actually enjoyed Dodson more because Dodson was scary. He had something about him that, when he would just touch you, you’d just drop. The first time I fought him, he dropped me like four times. And then I beat him. Then he goes off on this four-fight win streak, dropping everybody, knocking people out.
“I don’t know how him and Joseph Benavidez never fought. It was like those two would never cross paths. And then we fought again. It was good. He said I was boring, talked some trash, so it made it a little more sweeter. So I think John Dodson out of all of them.”
In his most recent outing, Johnson avenged his loss to Adriano Moraes, who dethroned him by knockout in their first fight. Johnson will now engage in his first trilogy bout when he meets Moraes in the ONE on Prime Video 10 main event May 5 at 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colo., near Denver. The card will stream free to Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
Johnson (34-4-1) admits that getting Moraes (20-4) back with a knockout of his own was a very satisfying feeling.
“I got mine, I gave him his, so it’s 1-1,” Johnson said. “I knew I was going to see him in the future. Didn’t think it would be this quick. I figured they’d give somebody else the opportunity to fight for the belt. But hey, here we are now, and I had a little bit of the, ‘Take that motherf*cker, you get yours.’”
ONE champ Demetrious Johnson explains why ‘scary’ John Dodson was his favorite rivalry
