Former dual weight UFC champion Conor McGregor has explained why flyweight great Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson wasn’t a part of his GOAT list that was released on Saturday. McGregor shocked fans and annoyed his rivals by starting a GOAT thread over the weekend. The Irishman outlined who he believes are the four best fighters of all-time, causing a stir in the MMA world while doing so.
‘Notorious’ ranked middleweight legend, Anderson Silva, as the best fighter ever, closely followed by himself in second place. Two-weight champion Georges St-Pierre was in third place and current light-heavyweight king Jon Jones sits in the fourth spot. Each pick was explained and defended by McGregor who stood by his list despite coming under a lot of criticism from fans and fighters.
An obvious omission from McGregor’s GOAT list is of course ‘Mighty Mouse’. One fan claimed the list made no sense as it didn’t include Johnson who is arguably the greatest fighter of all-time, period. McGregor though fired back and defended the omission of Johnson claiming he fought in a shallow division, lost when he jumped up in divisions and left the premier promotion after losing Henry Cejudo, he wrote.
“Love Mighty Mouse. Always give him credit. One of the most skilled! But in a limited competition division, he eventually left the top tier organization after losing a match that was then 1-1. Plus he lost his up weight world title attempt against Dominic Cruz.”
McGregor while correct in everything he says about Johnson has overlooked some key stats. ‘Mighty Mouse’ holds the UFC record for most consecutive title defences (11). He beat all his rivals, some twice before calling it a career in the UFC off the back of a highly controversial decision loss to current bantamweight king Cejudo. He has since gone on to capture a title in ONE Championship at 135lbs displaying his ability to succeed in various weight classes.
Is Conor McGregor wrong to omit Demetrious Johnson from his GOAT list?