Demetrious
Johnson believes his accomplishments are more than enough to
place him among mixed martial arts’ all-time elite.
“Mighty Mouse” ranked himself No. 2 on his own personal GOAT list,
behind only current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“For my No. 1, I have Jon ‘Bones’ Jones. That is the only man that
I’ll put ahead of me because this man, I feel like every single
time he has been inside the cage he could just destroy his opponent
however you want it,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “He also
has wins by knockout, putting people to sleep, decisions,
everything on the list.”
Meanwhile, Johnson ranked Georges St.
Pierre at No. 3 and Anderson
Silva at 4. The former UFC flyweight champion and ONE
Championship 135-pound king explained his logic for ranking himself
second.
“Nobody has been able to do what I’ve been able to do in the
flyweight division or in any division,” Johnson said. “Eleven
consecutive title defenses, created a brand new move that many of
you guys have never seen—shout-out to Matt Hume who
helped me to learn that move—I have wins by knockout, submission,
by decision, got a split draw, whatever you want to call it.”
Johnson pointed to his track record in UFC title bouts, which
included a number of finishes during his streak of 11 consecutive
defenses, as another reason he deserves to be ahead of the likes of
Silva and St. Pierre. He also captured gold while fighting in a
larger weight class in ONE and has proven himself on the mats in a
grappling tournament.
“For me to have 11 consecutive title defenses and always look for
the finish against my opponents, against Kyoji
Horiguchi, Chris
Cariaso, John Dodson,
Ray
Borg, Henry
Cejudo, the list goes on,” Johnson said. “And to be able to go
to a different organization where I’m fighting at 135, I’m fighting
bigger opponents, different rule set, I was able to win a world
grand prix, which is a tournament-style, three fights in one year,
and then turn around and fight for the belt. I came back, knocked
the guy out and then I defended the belt and then after all that I
go do an IBJJF Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament, my first time in the
gi, brown belt masters at 37 years old, and I go out there and I
win it.
“Not one point got scored on me, not any one of those fighters, not
even f—-ing Jon Jones
himself would do that and be able to pass with flying colors, so I
think the ability for me to be able to transition into different
things is what puts me above those guys. Typically, I don’t put
myself above people, since we’re having this discussion I’ll go
ahead and make an argument for myself why I believe I’m in that top
4.”
Johnson last appeared at ONE on Prime Video 10, where he
successfully defended his flyweight (135-pound) title with a
decision win against Adriano
Moraes in their trilogy bout. His MMA future is currently
unclear because prior to that bout, “Mighty Mouse” admitted that it
could be the last of his career.