Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, the UFC’s No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, is the only man in promotional history to hold 125-pound gold. Since acquiring the title in 2012, Johnson has run a demolition course through the flyweight division, defending the strap eight straight times. He has looked unbeatable to say the least.
But the reality of the situation is that he is beatable, and few fighters are more aware of that than reigning bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who handed Johnson one of his only two career losses back in 2011.
Coincidently, Cruz is a training partner of Wilson Reis, a man slated to challenge Johnson for the title in the co-main event of July 30’s UFC 201 from Atlanta, Georgia. According to “The Dominator”, Reis too knows that the puzzle that is Demetrious Johnson can indeed be solved:
“Demetrious Johnson is not unbeatable – if anyone knows that, it’s me,” Cruz told MMAjunkie. “He’s a very beatable individual. I beat him for five rounds straight. He didn’t win one round of that fight. I know how to beat him. I understand what you’ve got to do. And Wilson does, too.”
Despite being a rather unknown to the casual fan, Reis is no push over. The 31-year-old Brazilian contender has won three of his last four, and possesses quite the well-rounded skillset according to Cruz:
“I love that fight because there’s a lot of unknowns about Wilson,” Cruz said. ”I brought him to help me get ready for my first fight with Joseph Benavidez because he’s a short-statured fighter, with good explosive movement. And he has a good grappling game in general. He’s got good wrestling, good jiu-jitsu. And if you look at his striking, he keeps getting better training with us. We understand how to build a gameplan around his strengths.”
Being skilled in every area likely won’t be enough to topple “Mighty Mouse”, however, as the title-holder has appeared to be near perfect in all aspects of the fight game. But Cruz once again claimed that Johnson is beatable, and it may be that mental edge that leads Reis to victory in the mind of the bantamweight king:
“Wilson believes in himself. The first step is believing that Demetrious is beatable. And we all know that he is. A lot of these other guys go in there almost believing that they can’t. Wilson won’t go in there with that mindset. He’s going in there very confident. And he should, because he’s very tough to deal with.”
Over the last few years, Cruz has become one of the best analysts in the sport, breaking down fights with intelligence and fight knowledge that very few possess. Is he on to something here with Reis, or will Johnson once again defend his long-held title?
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