Issue 144

August 2016

1 Competition 

How many times does Demetrious Johnson want to defeat the same leading contenders before we all get bored? Oh wait, too late. With a lack of real competition at 125lb, the UFC has to scrape the barrel for title challengers and it’s starting to show. UFC 201 challenger Wilson Reis is a case in point, another guy with a prosaic 4-2 UFC record – yet he’s the best untried opponent available.

2 Legacy 

A fighter can only ever beat the man who’s put in front of him. But truly great careers aren’t built on a catalogue of rematches and guys with fewer than 10 fights – even if they are former Olympians. To be great you need to defeat other greats and right now there’s nobody on ‘DJ’s level at flyweight.

3 Money 

Despite the fact Johnson is many people’s choice as pound-for-pound number one in MMA today, his pay-per-view numbers are some of the lowest his organization’s current list of champions. It’s also true that the money goes up as the weight goes up in fight sports, so a switch to bantamweight, especially for a championship fight, would be a significant marketing driver.

4 Revenge 

Mighty Mouse has lost just twice as a professional mixed martial artist. First to Brad Pickett at WEC 48 in 2010 and second to current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz when he challenged for the 135lb belt in October 2011. Since the latter, DJ became the only ever flyweight title holder and elevated his game to another level. Cruz, meanwhile, has just come back from a three-year, injury-riddled layoff to regain his belt.

5 Growth 

Over the past three years, Matt Hume has built ‘Mighty Mouse’ into arguably the finest mixed martial artist on the planet. Technically he’s superb, athletically he’s insane. But how long will it last against second-rate opposition? DJ needs to move up before he stagnates and grows stale.

Your View

Does DJ need to move to 135lb to secure his legacy?

YES

@Toggers87

I don’t understand how he’s considered the best P4P beating poor competition.

NO

@swiftlefthook

Why? A legacy is made by being the best in a weight class, the guy is doing just that.

YES

@KingTwittaaa

Cruz has best him at higher weight... if he goes up and then beats Cruz, 100% p4p king

?Twitter poll

Yes 53% No 47%