‘Mighty’ Johnson speaks after record breaking win
Demetrious Johnson: “It’s really good not to hear Anderson Silva’s name next to my name. Now, who has the longest reign of title defenses?”
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson spoke at the UFC 216 post-fight press conference, following his insanely great, record-breaking finish of Ray Borg in the co-main. He explained the underlying theory behind the Mighty Armbar; it’s a principal every beginner learns in Judo – Kuzushi. ‘Mighty’ like to off-balance opponents into a scramble. It was entirely planned, and practiced in the gym repeatedly.
A couple of weeks ago, he was saying when somebody’s planted, you have to shift their weight, and when they shift their weight, they’re light, said Johnson, as transcribed by Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie. So I kneed him, and then I shook his weight – I shifted his weight, and when he shifted, he went back and threw an elbow, and I was like, ‘Got you.’
You see a lot of people that are doing their V-logs – I don’t show any of my training. I just don’t do it. It’s none of your guys’ business what I’m doing in the gym. But we do have the ‘Embedded’ crew come out there, and I show my warmup, and they’re like, ‘Dude, you need to let us film your sparring, because the stuff you’re doing in sparring, you’re actually doing in the octagon.’
When I was in Edmonton (for UFC 215), I was practically throwing people up. I do it all the time in the gym.
Making it all the more remarkable, Johnson fought hurt. His knee had been bothering him since before the UFC 215, when Borg was pulled the day before the fight due to illness.
When I was up in Edmonton, I had an injury I was going to fight through,” he said. “Matt [Hume, coach] was like, ‘Uh, you need to get that looked at.’ When it got pushed back, I was like, great, now I have to go into training camp injured and try not to make it worse.
I have to get an MRI. I can move fine, but when I sit back on my knees, if try to lay on my knees and try to take my butt to my heels, just excruciating pain in my right knee. I don’t know what it is – I’m going to get it looked at.
It’s really good not to hear Anderson Silva’s name next to my name. Now, who has the longest reign of title defenses? Demetrious Johnson does.