UFC 191 Aftermath: In Jones’ absence, Johnson is pound-for-pound king

First things first: When Jon Jones returns to the Octagon, he regains his rightful place as the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter.

In the meantime, Demetrious Johnson is doing an impeccable job as his stand-in on the men’s side of the sport.

“Mighty Mouse” will celebrate his third anniversary as the UFC’s only flyweight champion on Sept. 21. In that time, he’s defended his belt seven times, which has tied him with Jose Aldo for the fourth-most consecutive UFC title defenses, which is all the more impressive since Aldo had a two-year head start.

Before Jones was sidelined by legal troubles, most pound-for-pound polls had Jones No. 1, Aldo No. 2, and Johnson No. 3.

But as time marches on, it becomes increasingly apparent Johnson has surpassed the oft-idled Aldo.

Johnson’s UFC 191 rematch with John Dodson was made because Dodson gave Johnson the toughest challenge of his title reign back in 2013. Instead, Johnson made it look easy in the rematch.

That’s the third time at flyweight Johnson has rocked the return bout: He previously went from a draw against Ian McCall to a clear victory and from a split decision to win the title against Joseph Benavidez to a first-round knockout on Benavidez’s home turf in the rematch.

That indicates a smart fighter who evolves, changes, and adapts. Oh, and he gets out and fights: Johnson has competed 14 times over the past 48 months, making him by far Zuffa’s most active fighter. Aldo, by contrast, has fought six times in that span.

Aldo seems to have stalled out as a fighter. You know exactly what you’re going to get when Aldo steps into the Octagon. The featherweight champion is capable of some of the sport’s most spectacular displays, but often he seems to be holding his arsenal back. Yes, Aldo is one of the best world’s best fighters. But the longevity of Aldo, whose lineal title reign, including the WEC belt, will surpass the six-year mark in November, is as much a product long sabbaticals and a play-it-safe style as anything else.

It’s true Johnson has gone the distance as well. But he’s proven, quite literally in the case of Kyoji Horiguchi, that he’ll seek the finish until the final second. And Johnson has pulled away from opponents in the closing rounds of his decisions, while Aldo’s fifth rounds tend to be his worst, as title defenses like Ricardo Lamas and Mark Hominick attest.

And it’s not like Johnson hasn’t already walked the pound-for-pound walk. He was a successful bantamweight before there was a flyweight class. Going the distance in a loss to then-champion Dominick Cruz, who has never lost at bantamweight, is nothing to be ashamed of.

“This was the fight to make in this weight class and Dodson had the power, the speed, the experience and got destroyed; literally, he got shut down,” UFC president Dana White said. “Joe Rogan’s probably right. ‘Mighty Mouse’ is probably the pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the sport. He looked fantastic.”

White, of course, will call everyone short of Tito Ortiz the sport’s pound-for-pound best when the opportunity arises. But in this case, at least as long as Jones isn’t around, he’s right.

UFC 191 quotes

“The record held right now is by Anderson Silva, and it’s 10; so if I can break that, it would be an awesome thing. Then to be able to have the most finishes as a flyweight – most knockouts, submissions and TKOs? That’s another goal. Just being the most active flyweight and champion. I’m a guy that hasn’t had injuries, and that’s a goal I set for myself.” — Johnson on his future goals.

“Drunken dummies.” — UFC president Dana White’s term for those at the MGM Grand Garden Arena who booed Mighty Mouse.

“It’s much of a compliment for people to even say that, and they’re huge shoes to fill, but I have a long way before I can make that comparison,” — Paige VanZant, on comparisons to Ronda Rousey.

“I can’t blame anything that’s gone on this whole week, calling it a distraction or motivation,” Dodson said. “The only thing is that I came out here, I performed my best, and I did everything that I need to do. I’m excited that I got to see and hold my baby for the first time.” — Dodson, on fighting the same week as the birth of his child.

“A lot of you guys write a lot of b——, but that’s what you do. That’s what you do to have to get paid and I’m fine with that. But if you’re going to write something bad, write something good.” — Anthony “Rumble” Johnson’s take on the MMA media.

Stock report

Up: Paige VanZant VanZant took another step forward in her progression Saturday night, as she dominated Alex Chambers, earning 10-8s all over the scorecard before finishing Chambers with a third-round armbar. And while that armbar conjured inevitable comparisons to Ronda Rousey, the 21-year old’s straw weight’s buildup has reached an interesting crossroad. VanZant is already the division’s biggest star, and she’s clearly outclassed the lower end of the ranks. But if she moved straight at Joanna Jedrzejczyk or Claudia Gadelha like she did against Chambers,VanZant would be in for one bad night. It will be interesting to see who VanZant is matched up against next.

Down: Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir Sometimes, you have fights in which both competitors come out as winners in public perception, regardless who gets the victory. Then you have fights like last night’s heavyweight bout between former champions Arlovski and Mir. The matchmaking in this one was a bit of a head-scratcher, since you had two veterans on hot streaks, so one of them were all but guaranteed to have their comeback story end. Instead, you had the worst of all possible scenarios, as the bout more closely resembled a Bellator “legends” main event than a battle to potentially determine a heavyweight title contender. Arlovski got the decision (I had it for Mir, 29-28), but can you really push Arlovski as a potential title contender after a match like that one?

Up: John Lineker For the past couple years, Lineker has looked like a killer fighting flyweights. Note the distinction of the phrase “fighting flyweights,” rather than “competing at flyweight,” since he kept missing weight, kept showing up considerably larger than his opponents, and kept finishing them. Last night, Lineker finally moved up to bantamweight, and, guess what? He still looks like a killer. Lineker lost none of his punching power in a wild, out-of-control whirlwind brawl. Lineker finished Francisco Rivera with a submission and took home Fight of the Night honors. Now, granted, guys like T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz aren’t going to stand right in front of Lineker and wing punches like Rivera. But Lineker sure looked like a fighter in the weight class where he belongs last night.

Up: Corey Anderson You can love Anderson’s “Beastin’ 25/8” nickname or you can hate it, but there’s no doubting he got the job done for 15/3 last night against Jan Blachowicz. Anderson let Blachowicz gas himself out in the first round, then dominated him from top position over the rest of the fight, outlanding him in ground strikes, 114-10. That’s three out of four in the UFC for the still-developing TUF 19 champion, and a nice rebound performance after letting his fight with Gian Villante slip away.

Hold: Anthony Johnson “Rumble” did what he had to do against an overmatched Jimi Manuwa. He then got on the case of the media, as seen in the quote above. Sorry, Rumble, but you have to take the good with the bad. Johnson got plenty of positive press as he turned his career around and seemed to be on his best behavior. He still gets credit for his cage accomplishments. Last night, he showed off solid ground work before giving the crowd the knockout it wanted. But when a fighter with documented domestic violence issues has public troubles with anger management, that’s a part of the story, too.

Interesting calls

The middleweight undercard fight between grizzled veteran Joe Riggs and Ron Stallings came to a strange finish. Stallings hit Riggs, who had one knee on the ground and was attempting to work into top position, with an illegal upkick in the second round of their fight. The cageside doctor checked Riggs, who said he couldn’t see through his swollen right eye, and recommended to referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight, which he did. Herzog awarded Riggs a disqualification victory.

The problem? Stallings’ upkick hit Riggs on the jaw. Riggs’ eye injury occurred in the first round, when he was on the receiving end of Stallings’ repeated jabs and progressively got worse. The upkick did not cause the eye injury. The kick was illegal, but the doctor wasn’t recommending the fight be stopped due to an injury related to the kick. The bout should have gone into the books as a no-contest. Riggs has offered Stallings a rematch, which seems the best course of action, since an appeal to the Nevada Athletic Commission is likely to end up in a circus.

Fight I’d like to see next: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Demetrious Johnson

I called for this one back when Dillashaw ran through Renan Barao in Chicago, and got shouted down for it in my Twitter timeline, but now everyone else finally seems to be coming around. I understand why this fight probably can’t be made right away. Dillashaw vs. Cruz is simply too important of a fight to skip over, assuming Cruz can get healthy. But, really, who’s left at 125 pounds for Mighty Mouse at this point? He’s already twice beaten both of his top two challengers, Dodson and Benavidez, and in each case, the second fight was more dominant than the first. It sure looks like the Henry Cejudo-Jussier Formiga winner will be in line for the next shot. Cejudo has real potential, but seems to be getting rushed, while Formiga seems to merely be a placeholder challenger. Either way, while obstacles remain, Johnson, who found success at bantamweight when flyweight wasn’t an option, and Dillishaw, seem destined to meet down the road, a true showcase for the two best at the two lightest men’s weight classes.

First things first: When Jon Jones returns to the Octagon, he regains his rightful place as the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter.

In the meantime, Demetrious Johnson is doing an impeccable job as his stand-in on the men’s side of the sport.

“Mighty Mouse” will celebrate his third anniversary as the UFC’s only flyweight champion on Sept. 21. In that time, he’s defended his belt seven times, which has tied him with Jose Aldo for the fourth-most consecutive UFC title defenses, which is all the more impressive since Aldo had a two-year head start.

Before Jones was sidelined by legal troubles, most pound-for-pound polls had Jones No. 1, Aldo No. 2, and Johnson No. 3.

But as time marches on, it becomes increasingly apparent Johnson has surpassed the oft-idled Aldo.

Johnson’s UFC 191 rematch with John Dodson was made because Dodson gave Johnson the toughest challenge of his title reign back in 2013. Instead, Johnson made it look easy in the rematch.

That’s the third time at flyweight Johnson has rocked the return bout: He previously went from a draw against Ian McCall to a clear victory and from a split decision to win the title against Joseph Benavidez to a first-round knockout on Benavidez’s home turf in the rematch.

That indicates a smart fighter who evolves, changes, and adapts. Oh, and he gets out and fights: Johnson has competed 14 times over the past 48 months, making him by far Zuffa’s most active fighter. Aldo, by contrast, has fought six times in that span.

Aldo seems to have stalled out as a fighter. You know exactly what you’re going to get when Aldo steps into the Octagon. The featherweight champion is capable of some of the sport’s most spectacular displays, but often he seems to be holding his arsenal back. Yes, Aldo is one of the best world’s best fighters. But the longevity of Aldo, whose lineal title reign, including the WEC belt, will surpass the six-year mark in November, is as much a product long sabbaticals and a play-it-safe style as anything else.

It’s true Johnson has gone the distance as well. But he’s proven, quite literally in the case of Kyoji Horiguchi, that he’ll seek the finish until the final second. And Johnson has pulled away from opponents in the closing rounds of his decisions, while Aldo’s fifth rounds tend to be his worst, as title defenses like Ricardo Lamas and Mark Hominick attest.

And it’s not like Johnson hasn’t already walked the pound-for-pound walk. He was a successful bantamweight before there was a flyweight class. Going the distance in a loss to then-champion Dominick Cruz, who has never lost at bantamweight, is nothing to be ashamed of.

“This was the fight to make in this weight class and Dodson had the power, the speed, the experience and got destroyed; literally, he got shut down,” UFC president Dana White said. “Joe Rogan’s probably right. ‘Mighty Mouse’ is probably the pound-for-pound greatest fighter in the sport. He looked fantastic.”

White, of course, will call everyone short of Tito Ortiz the sport’s pound-for-pound best when the opportunity arises. But in this case, at least as long as Jones isn’t around, he’s right.

UFC 191 quotes

“The record held right now is by Anderson Silva, and it’s 10; so if I can break that, it would be an awesome thing. Then to be able to have the most finishes as a flyweight – most knockouts, submissions and TKOs? That’s another goal. Just being the most active flyweight and champion. I’m a guy that hasn’t had injuries, and that’s a goal I set for myself.” — Johnson on his future goals.

“Drunken dummies.” — UFC president Dana White’s term for those at the MGM Grand Garden Arena who booed Mighty Mouse.

“It’s much of a compliment for people to even say that, and they’re huge shoes to fill, but I have a long way before I can make that comparison,” — Paige VanZant, on comparisons to Ronda Rousey.

“I can’t blame anything that’s gone on this whole week, calling it a distraction or motivation,” Dodson said. “The only thing is that I came out here, I performed my best, and I did everything that I need to do. I’m excited that I got to see and hold my baby for the first time.” — Dodson, on fighting the same week as the birth of his child.

“A lot of you guys write a lot of b——, but that’s what you do. That’s what you do to have to get paid and I’m fine with that. But if you’re going to write something bad, write something good.” — Anthony “Rumble” Johnson’s take on the MMA media.

Stock report

Up: Paige VanZant VanZant took another step forward in her progression Saturday night, as she dominated Alex Chambers, earning 10-8s all over the scorecard before finishing Chambers with a third-round armbar. And while that armbar conjured inevitable comparisons to Ronda Rousey, the 21-year old’s straw weight’s buildup has reached an interesting crossroad. VanZant is already the division’s biggest star, and she’s clearly outclassed the lower end of the ranks. But if she moved straight at Joanna Jedrzejczyk or Claudia Gadelha like she did against Chambers,VanZant would be in for one bad night. It will be interesting to see who VanZant is matched up against next.

Down: Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir Sometimes, you have fights in which both competitors come out as winners in public perception, regardless who gets the victory. Then you have fights like last night’s heavyweight bout between former champions Arlovski and Mir. The matchmaking in this one was a bit of a head-scratcher, since you had two veterans on hot streaks, so one of them were all but guaranteed to have their comeback story end. Instead, you had the worst of all possible scenarios, as the bout more closely resembled a Bellator “legends” main event than a battle to potentially determine a heavyweight title contender. Arlovski got the decision (I had it for Mir, 29-28), but can you really push Arlovski as a potential title contender after a match like that one?

Up: John Lineker For the past couple years, Lineker has looked like a killer fighting flyweights. Note the distinction of the phrase “fighting flyweights,” rather than “competing at flyweight,” since he kept missing weight, kept showing up considerably larger than his opponents, and kept finishing them. Last night, Lineker finally moved up to bantamweight, and, guess what? He still looks like a killer. Lineker lost none of his punching power in a wild, out-of-control whirlwind brawl. Lineker finished Francisco Rivera with a submission and took home Fight of the Night honors. Now, granted, guys like T.J. Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz aren’t going to stand right in front of Lineker and wing punches like Rivera. But Lineker sure looked like a fighter in the weight class where he belongs last night.

Up: Corey Anderson You can love Anderson’s “Beastin’ 25/8” nickname or you can hate it, but there’s no doubting he got the job done for 15/3 last night against Jan Blachowicz. Anderson let Blachowicz gas himself out in the first round, then dominated him from top position over the rest of the fight, outlanding him in ground strikes, 114-10. That’s three out of four in the UFC for the still-developing TUF 19 champion, and a nice rebound performance after letting his fight with Gian Villante slip away.

Hold: Anthony Johnson “Rumble” did what he had to do against an overmatched Jimi Manuwa. He then got on the case of the media, as seen in the quote above. Sorry, Rumble, but you have to take the good with the bad. Johnson got plenty of positive press as he turned his career around and seemed to be on his best behavior. He still gets credit for his cage accomplishments. Last night, he showed off solid ground work before giving the crowd the knockout it wanted. But when a fighter with documented domestic violence issues has public troubles with anger management, that’s a part of the story, too.

Interesting calls

The middleweight undercard fight between grizzled veteran Joe Riggs and Ron Stallings came to a strange finish. Stallings hit Riggs, who had one knee on the ground and was attempting to work into top position, with an illegal upkick in the second round of their fight. The cageside doctor checked Riggs, who said he couldn’t see through his swollen right eye, and recommended to referee Jason Herzog to stop the fight, which he did. Herzog awarded Riggs a disqualification victory.

The problem? Stallings’ upkick hit Riggs on the jaw. Riggs’ eye injury occurred in the first round, when he was on the receiving end of Stallings’ repeated jabs and progressively got worse. The upkick did not cause the eye injury. The kick was illegal, but the doctor wasn’t recommending the fight be stopped due to an injury related to the kick. The bout should have gone into the books as a no-contest. Riggs has offered Stallings a rematch, which seems the best course of action, since an appeal to the Nevada Athletic Commission is likely to end up in a circus.

Fight I’d like to see next: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Demetrious Johnson

I called for this one back when Dillashaw ran through Renan Barao in Chicago, and got shouted down for it in my Twitter timeline, but now everyone else finally seems to be coming around. I understand why this fight probably can’t be made right away. Dillashaw vs. Cruz is simply too important of a fight to skip over, assuming Cruz can get healthy. But, really, who’s left at 125 pounds for Mighty Mouse at this point? He’s already twice beaten both of his top two challengers, Dodson and Benavidez, and in each case, the second fight was more dominant than the first. It sure looks like the Henry Cejudo-Jussier Formiga winner will be in line for the next shot. Cejudo has real potential, but seems to be getting rushed, while Formiga seems to merely be a placeholder challenger. Either way, while obstacles remain, Johnson, who found success at bantamweight when flyweight wasn’t an option, and Dillishaw, seem destined to meet down the road, a true showcase for the two best at the two lightest men’s weight classes.