A dozen years ago, Demetrious Johnson made history.
“Mighty Mouse” outworked Joseph Benavidez for a split decision in the final of a four-man tournament to become the UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion. It was the start of a run in the division that will be hard to topple.
Johnson defended the 125-pound title 11 consecutive times before he lost it in a highly debatable split decision to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 a little more than six years ago. After that, he moved to ONE Championship, where he won that promotion’s 135-pound title before he recently announced his retirement.
On the anniversary of that first UFC flyweight title fight, take a look back at Johnson’s UFC title wins while he was considered by many to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez, UFC 152
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez, UFC 152
Johnson def. John Dodson, UFC on FOX 6
Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson, UFC on FOX 6
Johnson def. John Moraga, UFC on FOX 8
Demtrious Johnson vs. John Moraga, UFC on FOX 8
Johnson def. Joseph Benavidez, UFC on FOX 9
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez 2, UFC on FOX 9
Johnson def. Ali Bagautinov, UFC 174
Demetrious Johnson vs. Ali Bagautinov, UFC 174
Johnson def. Chris Cariaso, UFC 178
Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso, UFC 178
Johnson def. Kyogi Horiguchi, UFC 186
Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyogi Horiguchi, UFC 186
Johnson def. John Dodson, UFC 191
Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson 2, UFC 191
Johnson def. Henry Cejudo, UFC 197
Johnson def. Tim Elliott, TUF 24 Finale
Demetrious Johnson vs. Tim Elliott, TUF 24 Finale
Johnson def. Wilson Reis, UFC on FOX 24
Demetrious Johnson vs. Wilson Reis, UFC on FOX 24
Johnson def. Ray Borg, UFC 216
Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg, UFC 216
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