Tag: Demetrious Johnson

UFC on Fox 8: John Moraga Says ‘Boring’ Champ Demetrious Johnson ‘Runs Too Much’

Demetrious Johnson may be the fastest man in the UFC, but that doesn’t mean the flyweight champion is exciting fans with his agility-based style.But is the flyweight champion “boring?”That’s what challenger John Moraga thinks, telling MMA Fighting that…

Demetrious Johnson may be the fastest man in the UFC, but that doesn’t mean the flyweight champion is exciting fans with his agility-based style.

But is the flyweight champion “boring?”

That’s what challenger John Moraga thinks, telling MMA Fighting that while he doesn’t have any disrespect for “Mighty Mouse” or his skills, he runs away more than he fights.

In fact, Moraga says Johnson isn’t even as quick as people think:

“He just bounces around. He runs around too much. He don’t fight,” Moraga said during a recent interview. “He don’t put on exciting fights. He’s got a lot of technique and skill, but he doesn’t go in there and try to finish people, I don’t feel.”

“My main thing is I don’t want to go out there and put on boring fights. For this fight, who knows how it’s going to play out? Once we get in there, we’ll adapt to whatever we need to. I know I’m going to have be a little bit patient because he moves around so much and doesn’t get the fight going right away as far as big, heavy exchanges or anything like that.”

Moraga is far from the only person to criticize Johnson for his perceived volume-heavy, low-power style, with UFC president Dana White having to bat for his champion on several occasions.

MMA fans were especially critical of Johnson’s title victory against Joseph Benavidez last September, prompting White to say anyone who hated that fight should never buy a UFC pay-per-view ever again, according to MMA Weekly.

However, fans may just not like flyweight bouts.

Even UFC on FX 5 saw plenty of boos during the John Dodson vs. Jussier da Silva bout, and although the jeers stopped shortly before Dodson’s KO finish, an exasperated White, according to MMA Mania, could only guess that fans would “get 10-12 beers in them” and expect too much.

But maybe Moraga will bring in the cheers next time—he’s finished both of his UFC bouts so far and even earned a “Submission of the Night” bonus in his last outing.

Regardless, both men will need to perform on July 27, 2013, at UFC on Fox 8 in the Seattle Key Arena, with their UFC Flyweight Championship bout headlining a stacked main card.

 

McKinley Noble is an MMA conspiracy theorist. His work has appeared in NVision, PC World, Macworld, GamePro, 1UP, MMA Mania and The L.A. Times.

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UFC on FOX 8 Adds Demetrious Johnson vs. John Moraga Headliner; Matt Mitrione Comes Off Suspension to Fight Brendan Schaub


(John Moraga leaves Ulysses Gomez in a heap during his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC on FOX 8 bookings continue to pile up, with a pair of high-profile matchups announced last night by the UFC. First off, the July 27th event in Seattle now has an official main event: flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. fast-rising challenger John Moraga, a matchup that was originally supposed to headline the TUF 17 Finale earlier this month before Mighty Mouse was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Johnson is coming off his first title defense in January — a unanimous decision win over John Dodson at UFC on FOX 6 — while Moraga’s two-fight stint in the UFC has produced stoppage victories over Ulysses Gomez and Chris Cariaso…and that’s pretty much all it takes to get a title-shot at 125 pounds these days. Before starting his MMA career, Moraga was a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, and he currently trains at The Lab in Phoenix alongside Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the fighter-weight spectrum…


(John Moraga leaves Ulysses Gomez in a heap during his Octagon debut at UFC on FOX 4. Photo via Esther Lin/MMAFighting)

The UFC on FOX 8 bookings continue to pile up, with a pair of high-profile matchups announced last night by the UFC. First off, the July 27th event in Seattle now has an official main event: flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. fast-rising challenger John Moraga, a matchup that was originally supposed to headline the TUF 17 Finale earlier this month before Mighty Mouse was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Johnson is coming off his first title defense in January — a unanimous decision win over John Dodson at UFC on FOX 6 — while Moraga’s two-fight stint in the UFC has produced stoppage victories over Ulysses Gomez and Chris Cariaso…and that’s pretty much all it takes to get a title-shot at 125 pounds these days. Before starting his MMA career, Moraga was a two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State University, and he currently trains at The Lab in Phoenix alongside Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the fighter-weight spectrum, Matt Mitrione‘s suspension for being a jackass has ended after a long, arduous 15 days. (Meanwhile, War Machine is still allowed to speak freely. What a country.) That’s right, Meathead is being allowed back from time-out to fight Brendan Schaub at the UFC on FOX 8 event. Both fighters recently snapped two-fight losing streaks, with Mitrione hipbone-KO’ing Phil De Fries in 19 seconds at UFC on FUEL 9, and Schaub playing it safe against Lavar Johnson at UFC 157. I’m not calling this one a “win or get fired” fight, but let’s just say both men need to put on a good performance here to get back on the promotion’s good side.

And finally, that rumored Miesha Tate vs. Liz Carmouche women’s bantamweight fight appears to be a go for UFC on FOX 8 as well. Your thoughts on the matchups?

9 Fighters with the Fastest Hands in the UFC Today

Because hand speed translates to punching power—hand speed is a factor that dictates many stand-up exchanges in the UFC, always has and always will. Some fighters come into this world with fists destined to…

Because hand speed translates to punching power—hand speed is a factor that dictates many stand-up exchanges in the UFC, always has and always will.

Some fighters come into this world with fists destined to become heat-seeking missiles, while others must constantly refine their speed with bag and focus pad work in the practice room.

The fighters on this list not only were born with undeniable pop in their fists, they also perfected the art of delivering a swift blow to an opponent’s head or body through years of religiously partaking in arduous training rituals.

Here are the nine fighters with the fastest hands in the UFC.

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Demetrious Johnson on Track for UFC on Fox 8 Card in Seattle

UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was scheduled to defend his title against John Moraga this weekend, but an injury forced him out of action.After the injury was revealed as a torn shoulder labrum and required surgery, Johnson spoke to Ariel He…

UFC Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was scheduled to defend his title against John Moraga this weekend, but an injury forced him out of action.

After the injury was revealed as a torn shoulder labrum and required surgery, Johnson spoke to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting about his recovery. He also included some photos that show “Mighty Mouse” having full range of his shoulder.

According to the report, Johnson can shadow box but is unable to hit pads, as his doctor indicated it’d be too much stress on his shoulder. Still, the champ has found other ways of exercising such as squats and leg presses.

Johnson indicated he’s on track to return at the UFC on Fox 8 event, which is scheduled to go down on July 27. “Mighty Mouse” lives in nearby Kirkland, Wash. and also would like to be closer to home, as his wife is scheduled to give birth to their first child on July 16.

He still believes Moraga will be his opponent upon his return, but the UFC has yet to confirm that.

Johnson last competed in January against John Dodson at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson from Chicago. Dodson nearly finished Johnson and managed to steal a couple rounds on some judges’ scorecards, but in the end, Johnson’s superior conditioning proved to be too much for the challenger.

Moraga, meanwhile, joins a long list of former Arizona State University wrestling standouts who’ve made an impact in the MMA world. He made an emphatic UFC debut by dropping Ulysses Gomez with a series of elbows and punches.

Moraga followed that up with a front choke submission of Chris Cariaso at UFC 155, a win that also earned the title challenger Submission of the Night honors.

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Injury Update: Demetrious Johnson Tears Labrum, Sidelined for the Next Three Months


(Johnson better chiggity-check himself before he wrecks himself, Cotton. Photo via Getty Images.)

As much as we hate the fact that Demetrious Johnson has been forced to pull out of his upcoming flyweight title fight with John Moraga, we can’t exactly declare that he hasn’t earned a little break from the sport either. Granted, an injury vacation isn’t really a vacation at all (especially with an injury as serious as Johnson’s — we’ll get to that in a second), but have any of you realized that “Mighty Mouse” has fought seven times since entering the UFC in February of 2011?

It was a damn respectable pace and one that was destined to come to a crashing halt at some point in Johnson’s career. Thankfully, it appears that Johnson’s time away from the octagon will be limited to just a few months. As first revealed by Johnson’s AMC Pankration coach, Matt Hume, the flyweight champ has suffered a torn labrum that will keep him out of action for up to three months. There has been no word yet on how this will affect Johnson’s ability to pack into a hilariously undersized car with 42 of his closest friends.

Johnson was scheduled to face Moraga at the April 13th-scheduled TUF 17 Finale, but according to a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the two are currently in talks to meet at UFC 161 in June.

–J. Jones


(Johnson better chiggity-check himself before he wrecks himself, Cotton. Photo via Getty Images.)

As much as we hate the fact that Demetrious Johnson has been forced to pull out of his upcoming flyweight title fight with John Moraga, we can’t exactly declare that he hasn’t earned a little break from the sport either. Granted, an injury vacation isn’t really a vacation at all (especially with an injury as serious as Johnson’s — we’ll get to that in a second), but have any of you realized that “Mighty Mouse” has fought seven times since entering the UFC in February of 2011?

It was a damn respectable pace and one that was destined to come to a crashing halt at some point in Johnson’s career. Thankfully, it appears that Johnson’s time away from the octagon will be limited to just a few months. As first revealed by Johnson’s AMC Pankration coach, Matt Hume, the flyweight champ has suffered a torn labrum that will keep him out of action for up to three months. There has been no word yet on how this will affect Johnson’s ability to pack into a hilariously undersized car with 42 of his closest friends.

Johnson was scheduled to face Moraga at the April 13th-scheduled TUF 17 Finale, but according to a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the two are currently in talks to meet at UFC 161 in June.

–J. Jones

Demetrious Johnson Aims for UFC 161 Return, Says John Moraga Will Wait for Shot

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson said Monday he will go under the knife later this week to repair a partially torn labrum, and if all goes well, he’ll be back at full strength in eight to 12 weeks.Johnson said he first noticed problems in the …

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson said Monday he will go under the knife later this week to repair a partially torn labrum, and if all goes well, he’ll be back at full strength in eight to 12 weeks.

Johnson said he first noticed problems in the shoulder when he returned to training camp following his win over John Dodson at UFC on Fox 6. 

“My shoulder was still bugging me after the Dodson fight,” Johnson told broadcaster Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour broadcast. “I started training and I was starting to work out and pull a rope, which is one of our conditioning exercises, and I couldn’t pull on the rope.”

Johnson was scheduled to face John Moraga April 13 at the The Ultimate Fighter 17 finale before discovering the injury. 

On Monday, he targeted a return date of June 15, which is the date currently scheduled for UFC 161 in Canada. Johnson also said it’s his understanding Moraga will wait for the title shot, which Johnson called a “smart” decision. 

Johnson recalled his reluctance to initially deal with or even acknowledge the injury, but said coaches finally convinced him to see a doctor.

“You don’t want to think there’s anything wrong with your body. You want to think you’re invincible,” Johnson said. “I got the MRI, and they were like ‘you have a partially torn labrum,’ and I was like ‘aw, dammit.’ And that’s how we got the bad news.”

The good news, after a fashion, is that Johnson’s surgery will take place Thursday at Seattle’s prestigious Swedish Medical Center and will be performed by Dr. Edward Khalfayan, the orthopedic team physician for both the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Mariners.

Johnson acknowledged an outside possibility that he could be out longer if rehab does not go well or if Dr. Khalfayan discovers more significant damage during the operation. 

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