Demetrious Johnson has heard the call to try going back to 135 lbs for potential fights with the top of the division, but fromt he sound of it, he’s not answering the phone.
Conor McGregor may not have won his welterweight bout with Nate Diaz UFC 196, where the featherweight champion decided to move up two full weight classes to take on a late notice challenger, but it looks like his move did spark a conversation. Would other title holders be well served to look for big fights outside of their normal division? It happens all the time in boxing, but very very rarely in MMA.
One current UFC champ (and a very very dominant one) appears to have bandied the idea about, and from his point of view, it’s just not practical. The champ? Demetrious Johnson, himself a former bantamweight and a former title contender in the higher division, but to hear him tell it, too much a natural flyweight to make the leap worthwhile.
Demetrious Johnson spoke to Fox Sports recently about the potential of moving back to 135 for a rematch with Dominick Cruz:
“Big fights (at bantamweight), but at the same time when Conor talks about ‘I’m going to 170’ this and that, the other day I woke up weighing 137 (pounds). That’s two pounds,” Johnson explained when speaking to FOX Sports. “Go ask (Dominick Cruz) what he’s walking around at, he’s probably at 160. Me going to 135 it’s like wake up and go take a (expletive) and I’m ready let’s jump on the scale.
“So it’s a little bit different. I’m truly fighting bigger men.”
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“There was a point in time and I even went up to Matt (Hume) and was like ‘Matt, I think I’m ready to do it, I’m ready to go fight at 135, I want people at the edge of their seats like oh (expletive) the champ’s going to go fight at 135’. But he goes ‘there’s bigger things to do DJ’. He said if you can go out there and beat Anderson Silva’s record, that’s big. That’s what my goal is, and that’s where my heart is right now,” Johnson said.
“If somebody goes ‘you should go to 135’, my heart’s just not into it. I’m just not interested right now. If the money’s right, then I would, but I’m just not interested.”
So for those of you dreaming about seeing “Mighty Mouse” take another crack at 135 and some of the potential superfights that might entail, don’t hold your breath. Johnson next fights at UFC 197 on April 23rd, where he’ll take on young rising contender Henry Cejudo for the flyweight title.