Demetrious Khrisna Johnson, born on August 13, 1986, is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. ESPN, MMA Weekly, and various UFC personnel have called Johnson one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. Johnson has been referred to by many as ‘the greatest Flyweight (125 pound) Mixed Martial Arts fighter of all time’ with a record of 25 wins and 4 losses in professional MMA, and 36 wins and 4 losses including amateur and mixed rules bouts. At 125 pounds he only ever lost a single bout, a controversial split decision to Henry Cejudo, whom he knocked out in their other bout.
ONE Championship event. Source: Wikipedia
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born in Kentucky, Johnson grew up in Parkland, Washington, where he attended Washington High School and was a stand-out athlete in wrestling, track, and cross country. In wrestling, he placed 3rd and 2nd in the state in his junior and senior years. Although he only participated in track and cross country to improve his cardio for wrestling, he competed at the state championships in both of those sports as well. Johnson did receive scholarship offers for wrestling, but did not want to leave his family behind.
Johnson originally began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) as a hobby, continuing for two years before being invited to AMC Pankration, where he would meet MMA pioneer Matt Hume, who had been scouting Johnson and organized the event where Johnson made his MMA debut. He began his career in MMA as an amateur in 2006, winning via first-round knockout.
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and UFC Debut
He made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut at bantamweight against Brad Pickett on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48 in Sacramento, California. Johnson showed good kickboxing throughout but was unable to defend the many takedowns executed by Pickett. Johnson lost via unanimous decision. Johnson defeated Damacio Page via third-round submission on November 11, 2010, at WEC 52. After Page controlled the action in the first round, Johnson was able to dictate the action for most of the second and third rounds before submitting Page via guillotine choke.
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC Flyweight Champion
Johnson fought Dominick Cruz on October 1, 2011, at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson. Johnson fought Ian McCall on March 3, 2012, in the first round of the Flyweight Tournament at UFC on FX 2. This fight was the first flyweight bout in UFC history. The fight with McCall was announced as a majority decision win for Johnson. Later, in the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced that the athletic commission made a mistake when scoring the match and that officially the bout was scored a majority draw (28-28, 29-29, and 29-28 Johnson). A rematch with McCall took place on June 8, 2012, at UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall.
Johnson fought John Dodson on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Johnson was expected to face John Moraga on April 13, 2013, at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. However, Johnson was forced out of the bout with an injury, and Moraga was pulled from the event as well. The bout with Moraga eventually took place on July 27, 2013, at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga, where Johnson was looking to defend his title for a second time.
A rematch with Joseph Benavidez was expected for November 30, 2013, at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale. However, the bout was moved to December 14, 2013, at UFC on Fox 9 after that event's headliner was postponed due to injury. Johnson won the rematch in emphatic fashion via knockout in the first round, becoming the first person to stop Benavidez. The win also earned Johnson his first Knockout of the Night bonus award.
Johnson faced Ali Bagautinov on June 14, 2014, at UFC 174. He successfully defended his title for a fourth time, winning by unanimous decision. Subsequent to his win, on July 10, the British Columbia Athletic Commission (BCAC) announced that Bagautinov tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) prior to the title fight.
A bout with Chris Cariaso was expected on August 30, 2014, at UFC 177. However, the bout was shifted to September 27, 2014, at UFC 178 after that event's headliner was cancelled due to injury. Johnson won the fight via submission due to a kimura in the second round. This marked Johnson's fifth title defense and the first time that a kimura was used to end a fight in a UFC championship title bout.
A rematch with John Dodson took place on September 5, 2015, at UFC 191. In a largely one-sided affair, Johnson won the fight via unanimous decision.
Johnson faced Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo on April 23, 2016, at UFC 197. He won the fight via TKO in the first round after dropping Cejudo with a variety of strikes. The win earned Johnson his second Performance of the Night bonus.
Johnson next faced Tim Elliott on December 3, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. Despite being a heavy favorite, Johnson was taken down for the first time as a flyweight and nearly submitted with a d'arce choke in the first round.
Johnson faced Wilson Reis on April 15, 2017, at UFC on Fox 24. He won by armbar submission in the third round and subsequently received a Performance of the Night bonus. With the win, Johnson tied Anderson Silva for most consecutive title defenses (ten) in UFC history.
Johnson was briefly linked to an August 2017 fight with T.J. Dillashaw. He was scheduled to face Ray Borg on September 9, 2017, at UFC 215. In turn, the fight was canceled a day before the event, as Borg was forced to withdraw from the fight on Thursday evening due to illness.
Demetrious Johnson. Source: Sky Sports
Trade to ONE Championship
Is THIS The Most Dominant Champion in UFC History? 🏆
On October 27, 2018, Johnson was traded to ONE Championship for former ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren.
Johnson's second ONE Championship fight took place at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes on August 2, 2019. Johnson then faced Danny Kingad at ONE Championship: Century in the finals of the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand-Prix on October 12, 2019.
On September 15, 2021, it was announced that Johnson would fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon, the reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion and considered by many to be the current best pound-for-pound Muay Thai fighter.
Personal Life
UFC commentator Joe Rogan, ESPN.com, and other media outlets have called Johnson the greatest mixed martial artist in the world. Johnson had a harsh childhood; he was raised by his deaf mother and an abusive stepfather, and his sister attempted suicide when he was a teenager. Johnson met his biological father for the first time in 2017, and they have since developed a great relationship.
The main thing that has helped him move on from his past is his wife, Destiny Johnson. He says "she is the best thing that has ever happened to me and without her, life would be incomplete." They were wed May 11, 2012, in Hawaii.
Awards and Accomplishments
- Fight of the Night (Three times)
- Knockout of the Night (One time)
- Submission of the Night (One time)
- Performance of the Night (Four times)
Other achievements include:
- Third & tied (Khamzat Chimaev) for fourth most takedowns landed in a UFC title fight (14 vs. Kyoji Horiguchi & 12 vs.
- Latest submission in UFC history (4:59 in R5)
- 2011: Half-Year Awards: Best Newcomer of the 1HY & Ranked #7 Upset of the Year
- 2012: Ranked #3 Fighter of the Year & Ranked #7 Fight of the Year
- 2013: Ranked #2 Fighter of the Year,[146] Ranked #7 Fight of the Year vs. John Dodson[147] & Ranked #10 Knockout of the Year
- 2017: Submission of the Year vs. Ray Borg,[150] Ranked #3 Fighter of the Year[151] & Ranked #8 Submission of the Year
- 2015 April Submission of the Month
- 2022 August Knockout of the Month
He also received several "Submission of the Year" awards in 2017.
Key moments in his career:
- Won the ONE Flyweight Championship (135 lb).
- Return to 135 lb.
- Lost the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Broke the UFC record for the most consecutive title defenses (11).
- Performance of the Night.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Performance of the Night.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Defended the UFC Flyweight Championship.
- Flyweight debut.
- UFC Flyweight Tournament Semifinal.
These accomplishments solidify Demetrious Johnson's legacy as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.