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The only UFC flyweight contender who could presumably beat Demetrious Johnson left the Octagon wearing a look of deep dejection Saturday night.John Dodson is a gritty fighter, tough and fast and powerful. But even at his very best, he didn’t have enough.

 
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It’s possible no one does. “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA, so efficient and talented that it’s unlikely anyone – at least in the near future – can challenge his reign.At UFC 191, he controlled the pace, pressed Dodson throughout and came a … Read the Full Article Here

Matt Hume knew Demetrious Johnson had all the attributes — the athleticism, the work ethic and the technical acumen. All that was missing was Johnson’s attention.

Up until 2011, Johnson was not a full-time MMA fighter. He worked 10 to 12 hours per day at a recycling factory near his home in Parkland, Wash. That was what paid his bills.

Hume asked Johnson to quit his gig at the factory and do mixed martial arts full time four years ago. Johnson respectfully declined.

“Nope,” Johnson said Thursday at UFC 191 media day. “I told him, I was like, ‘Dude, this is reality. The likelihood and chances of me being a world champion, it’s not gonna happen.’ I told him that straight up. I was like, ‘Dude, it’s not gonna happen.'”

This is the same Johnson who has now held the UFC flyweight title for three years and defended it six times. The same guy who has said he’s making a run at Anderson Silva’s run of 10 consecutive title defenses.

Johnson, who defends the belt against John Dodson at UFC 191 on Saturday here at MGM Grand Garden Arena, is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Back then, though, he was just a blue-collar working man trying to make the best living he could for him and his family.

The only thing that changed Johnson’s mind about MMA as a full-time gig was bad luck. In a win over Miguel Torres in May 2011, Johnson injured his leg when Torres checked a kick. He went to work twice despite the injury until doctors told him the leg was broken. Johnson’s boss advised him to take some time off. He never went back to the factory.

“It was still hard to do it just because you’re taking that leap of faith and you have no idea if there’s going to be something there to catch me,” Johnson said. … “My paycheck was not dictated on somebody else [at the factory]. My paycheck is dictated on how hard I work. It’s gonna be coming to me every single week. And that’s what I loved about it.”

It all worked out for Johnson, he admits now. But he knows he’s one of the lucky ones, even though “lucky” might be the wrong word. “Mighty Mouse” knows he’s making more money than the people back at the factory now, but they can do that job into their 60s. Johnson won’t be in the UFC even a quarter of that long.

That’s why Johnson tries to be good about his money. He invests and has a 401k. He’s not known for superfluous purchases.

“Yes, I am interested in going out and buying nice sh*t, but at the end of the day I know Sam Stout just retired when he was 31,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to be that guy.”

Johnson is still worried about money in MMA, much like he was four years ago when he fought Hume tooth and nail about quitting his job.

“Even with the pay that I was gonna get fighting Dominick Cruz for the title, I still wasn’t satisfied with that,” Johnson said. “I was like, to be a professional athlete, to fight for a world title in the biggest organization in the world, in UFC, I still was not satisfied. I was like, ‘I still need to work.’ Because if I lose this fight, I just lost. I just lost in the pinnacle of the sport. What do I do?”

At the time, Johnson thought he was taking a major risk. Hume, a decorated former fighter and grappler who now runs AMC Pankration in Washington, never saw it that way. The coach was confident in Johnson as a special talent.

“It’s all the things,” Hume said. “There are other fighters and other champions who have a great work ethic like he does. There are other fighters and champions that have incredible athleticism like he does. And there are other champions that are very technical like he is in all aspects and are well-rounded. But it’s rare to have someone that is at the highest level in all of those things and that’s what separates D.J.”

His mind does, too. And that’s what makes him still somewhat uncomfortable talking about leaving a steady gig with benefits to chase this crazy MMA dream. Even if he happens to be one of the baddest men on the planet.

“I was thinking that that was my career,” Johnson said. “In the beginning of your mixed martial arts career, you’re not making good money. Obviously, it wasn’t good money in my eyes. I was a man who had my own house, I had insurance, I had bills. So, you only fight twice a year, you might make $30,000 — if that, if you’re successful. You gotta pay taxes, you gotta pay your coaches, all that stuff. So for me, I felt like I needed a supplement income.”

LOS ANGELES — Paige VanZant has only met Ronda Rousey in passing. She has never sat down with the UFC’s biggest star and had a conversation. But VanZant believes she can still pattern herself after Rousey’s innate ability to promote.

“I feel like I get a lot of advice from her just watching her and how she presents herself,” VanZant said Monday at a media lunch in Downtown Los Angeles. … “She’s juggling a lot of things right now. It’s nice to see how she focuses on fighting and switches over to the movie side of things, too.”

Rousey had significant roles in three major motion pictures in the last year and there are more to come. VanZant, a budding UFC women’s strawweight contender, wants that one day for herself to go along with a successful MMA career.

VanZant is only 21 years old with two UFC fights under her belt. Yet, she has an individual endorsement deal from Reebok and has appeared on mainstream daytime television shows, like Rousey. The Nevada native has the looks, personality and exciting fighting style to be a marketable force for the UFC for a long time.

On Saturday, VanZant will meet Alex Chambers at UFC 191 in Las Vegas. The UFC is taking things slow with “12 Gauge,” as evidenced by the fact that VanZant is ranked No. 7 among UFC women’s strawweight contenders, while Chambers is not ranked at all. VanZant said she isn’t even thinking much about a potential title shot any time soon.

“I just turned 21,” VanZant said. “I still have two years to break the record of youngest titleholder (set by Jon Jones at age 23). I’m gonna take my time in this journey. I have a career and I’m 21 years old and not a lot of 21-year-olds can say that. I want to enjoy the ride. I love every second of being in the UFC. I love every opportunity I’ve been given. When it’s my turn for the title, I’ll know and I will be ready for it.”

There is no specific formula for VanZant to follow. Very few MMA fighters in the past have been in her place at such a young age. VanZant, though, looks toward Rousey as a role model.

“Obviously, I want to follow Ronda,” VanZant said. “She’s done amazing things. She’s had amazing success and it just kind of shows me how far I can take this. And every time I think she’s hit the ceiling, she breaks through again. I would love to obviously follow in her footsteps. I want to continue winning fights before that could ever happen. I need to create a name for myself and maybe I’ll get the opportunities that she’s getting.”

The one thing Rousey does that VanZant plans on shying away from is trash talk. Rousey has had notable rivalries with opponents like Miesha Tate and Bethe Correia. VanZant doesn’t envision herself having that kind of bad blood with anyone. She characterizes herself as almost too nice and has no desire to engage fans by bashing a potential foe.

“I think maybe there’s a stereotype around what it takes to be a fighter,” VanZant said. “People feed off the drama. They want drama. They want something to be able to connect with almost. I think that’s why so many reality TV shows are so popular now.

“With me, I don’t have that. I shy away from drama. I don’t have to go into a fight emotionally.”

Rousey does market herself in other ways. Before her UFC 190 fight with Bethe Correia, she coined the “Do Nothing B*tch” catchphrase. Rousey has emerged as a major force in empowering women and is beloved by young, female athletes. VanZant sees things like that and wants to develop similar things for herself.

“She is a very successful person,” VanZant said. “I have to look at everything she’s doing and take that into account and maybe start following in her footsteps a little bit more if I want to have that sort of success.”

LAS VEGAS — From a four-fight losing streak to a title shot? Maybe that isn’t completely out of the question for Frank Mir.

Ricky Lundell, Mir’s coach, said he believes Mir’s co-main event bout against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 191 on Saturday night is a legitimate title eliminator and the team will ask for a title shot if Mir is victorious.

“This is the big one,” Lundell said Thursday at UFC 191 media day. “This is the one that everybody is looking at, because the two of them now, you look at Andrei Arlovski, he’s proven that he’s right there and ready to go for the title. And Frank Mir, the question behind Frank Mir was how was his standup going to adhere to that title shot again? Is he just going to get pushed against the wall and get beat? I believe we’ve answered that question now.”

Mir (18-9) was on a four-fight skid heading into a fight with Antonio Silva back in February. Most people thought the popular former heavyweight champion was done. But then Mir knocked out “Bigfoot” in 1:40 and his boxing looked great under the tutelage of coach Angelo Reyes. Fast forward to July and Mir knocked out young lion Todd Duffee in just 1:13 with a wicked left hand.

All of a sudden, the man who didn’t have a victory since 2011 was on a two-fight winning streak. Mir, 36, is the latest in a line of heavyweights in their mid-to-late 30s to have a career resurgence. Arlovski, 36, is another — he has won five in a row and three straight since returning to the UFC.

“I think it’s really exciting that both Frank and Andrei are back in this spot,” Lundell said. “They’ve both put in a lot of time and they’ve both taken the time to learn the new tricks necessary to get back to the title shot. I think a lot of guys, at this point in their careers, they’re not willing to put in the work like that and they’re not willing to go out and get the great training partners and coaches it takes to be successful in this sport.”

If Mir wins Saturday, it’ll be three in a row and a victory over the No. 4-ranked UFC heavyweight contender. Perhaps that title shot talk isn’t so premature.

“One-hundred percent, we will be speaking about a title shot,” Lundell said. “It would be Cain Velasquez or Fabricio Werdum. Who doesn’t want to see Frank Mir against either one of them?

“We definitely want that fight and we’re going to go get it. We just have to get through this weekend.”

Manuwa preferred to fight in Ireland, but he’ll take this

Jimi Manuwa asked the UFC to put him on the card next month in Dublin. Brass did him one better: a matchup with No. 1 light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson on Saturday night at UFC 191.

“All I did was ask for a fight,” Manuwa said. “I didn’t even want to fight in Vegas. I said put me on the Dublin card. They came back with Johnson in Vegas and how could I turn that down? I didn’t know what was going on with [Jan] Blachowicz, whether he was injured or whatever, but I accepted the fight within like 30 seconds.”

Johnson was supposed to fight Blachowicz at this event, but the UFC shuffled the deck when Manuwa (15-1) became available — most likely because of the highlight-reel potential of two knockout artists like “Rumble” and Manuwa.

Manuwa, 35, wasn’t sure if he’d be in this position a few months ago. He went into his fight with Blachowicz with a knee injury in April. He won by unanimous decision, but needed surgery to repair a torn meniscus afterward. It has healed well and over the summer he told the UFC he was ready to go. This opportunity was too good to pass up.

“I originally asked to fight on Dublin card, but we came up with something better and here we are,” Manuwa said. “Saturday night, it’s going off.”

Gibson won’t be future Team Alpha Male coach

Duane Ludwig left last year and Martin Kampmann is about to conclude his tenure as Team Alpha Male’s head coach. One of the top teams in mixed martial arts will again be seeking a leader. But it will not be Brandon Gibson.

The Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA striking coach went up to Sacramento recently after hitting it off with Alpha Male’s Cody Garbrandt and was even a guest coach with Urijah Faber on The Ultimate Fighter 22. But Gibson’s home is in Albuquerque and this won’t be a permanent marriage.

“I don’t plan on leaving Jackson’s,” Gibson said. “We’ve got a lot of champions there. We’ve got title fights coming up. Guys like [John] Dodson and [Carlos] Condit are my brothers. I’m not gonna leave Albuquerque. I’ve got a lot of unfinished work there. But I am honored to have a good relationship with an outstanding team like Alpha Male.”

That doesn’t mean Gibson won’t travel to Sacramento once in a while. Some Alpha Male fighters also might make the trek down to Albuquerque. Gibson said Greg Jackson used to go up to Montreal to help Firas Zahabi train Georges St-Pierre and he can envision a similar setup with Faber’s crew.

“I can see myself and Urijah having that relationship with certain fighters,” Gibson said. … “We had fun. I’ve always gotten a long well with those guys. I have a lot of respect for Urijah and what he’s done.”