The debate of who the greatest fighter of all time (G.O.A.T.) in mixed martial arts (MMA) is intensified over the last couple of weeks after many dubbed Khabib Nurmagomedov as such following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 and subsequent retirement (see it here).
The media even crowned “The Eagle” the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet since he ended his career at 29-0, 13-0 UFC. That move didn’t sit too well with Jon Jones since the former Light Heavyweight champion had that honor for quite some time.
Speaking of which, “Bones” also found it laughable that Khabib was being dubbed the G.O.A.T over him, given his unmatched resume and record number of championship fight victories at Light Heavyweight.
And while there is still Anderson Silva — who doesn’t believe such things — Georges St-Pierre and even Fedor Emelianenko who are in contention, there is one man who seems to be constantly missing from most people’s list: Demetrious Johnson.
For current UFC Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, if anyone deserves that honor it’s “Mighty Mouse.”
“If we want to talk about Ultimate G.O.A.T, did everyone just forget about Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson? Just the perfect fighter, or near perfect,” said Adesanya during a recent interview on Submission Radio.
After winning the inaugural UFC Flyweight title in 2012, Johnson racked up 11 consecutive title defenses before coughing it up to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227, his first loss in seven years. Soon thereafter, “Mighty Mouse” was traded to ONE Championship for Ben Askren.
Once in his new home, Johnson didn’t take long to make an impression winning three straight fights in the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand Prix to win that title, as well, bringing his record to 30-3-1.
Where does Johnson stand in your G.O.A.T list?
