Round 1: Cejudo opens things up with a karate stance and actually has some success with it, landing some nice shots. he does a nice job of evading Reis’ distance shots and is landing a plethora of big strikes. Reis comes inside and eats a knee from Cejudo, who gets top control before initiating the […]
Round 1: Cejudo opens things up with a karate stance and actually has some success with it, landing some nice shots. he does a nice job of evading Reis’ distance shots and is landing a plethora of big strikes. Reis comes inside and eats a knee from Cejudo, who gets top control before initiating the […]
Wilson Reis is excited to finally get a bout with Henry Cejudo. Tonight (Sept. 9), Reis and Cejudo will do battle inside the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The flyweight clash is set to be on the main card of UFC 215. Cejudo is the second ranked flyweight, while Reis holds the fifth spot. Speaking to […]
Wilson Reis is excited to finally get a bout with Henry Cejudo. Tonight (Sept. 9), Reis and Cejudo will do battle inside the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The flyweight clash is set to be on the main card of UFC 215. Cejudo is the second ranked flyweight, while Reis holds the fifth spot. Speaking to […]
Demetrious Johnson wasn’t pleased with the promotion for his fight against Wilson Reis to say the least. Johnson’s record tying 10th consecutive title defense against Reis on UFC on FOX 24 this past weekend (Sat. April 15, 2017) did the lowest overnight numbers in the show’s history, with 1.74 million viewers. ‘Mighty Mouse’ (a self-proclaimed white
Demetrious Johnson wasn’t pleased with the promotion for his fight against Wilson Reis to say the least.
Johnson’s record tying 10th consecutive title defense against Reis on UFC on FOX 24 this past weekend (Sat. April 15, 2017) did the lowest overnight numbers in the show’s history, with 1.74 million viewers. ‘Mighty Mouse’ (a self-proclaimed white belt) submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Wilson Reis in the third round via armbar.
During an appearance on today’s (Mon. April 17, 2017) episode of The MMA Hour, Johnson addressed the numbers and stated that it doesn’t affect him in the least. You either like what he brings to the Octagon, or you don’t (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“If you don’t like what I did Saturday night, if you don’t like a white belt who never did one jiu-jitsu tournament submitting a black belt, that’s your bag. I’m done defending myself,” Johnson said.
Johnson likes to keep busy on Twitch playing video games during his free time to interact with his fans. In the lead-up to his fight with Reis, Johnson decided to ask his followers how many of them had seen any commercials or promotion for the bout – and the numbers weren’t good:
“I went on Twitch and said, ‘I want to ask anyone in the world, have any of you guys seen a commercial for my fight?’” Johnson said. “And everyone was like, ‘no, no no.’ One guy said, ‘I saw one on UFC.com YouTube channel.’ I’m like ‘okay, I haven’t seen one either.’”
“The first time I saw a commercial for my fight was UFC 210,” Johnson said. “The last one, the first time I saw a commercial was one week before my fight. No one here around [his hometown] knew I was fighting, just because they didn’t see a commercial.”
In response Johnson isn’t going to put much energy into worrying about the UFC’s promotion of his fights, much like the promotion doesn’t put much energy into promoting his bouts:
“You have to take into account, how much advertising did they do?” Johnson said. “I put that in the back of my mind and then don’t worry about it and go out there and put it out of my mind.”
UFC on Fox 24 showcased once again why Demetrious Johnson has clearly earned the right of being dubbed the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world. His victory over Wilson Reis may not have shocked many in terms of the ultimate result, but the manner in which Johnson got the job done was nothing short of eye opening. Reis, while competitive in the opening frame, was ultimately dominated in the second and third rounds. I’ve got more to say about Johnson in a future article, but for now let’s focus on the other stars of UFC on Fox 24, namely Rose Namajunas and Robert Whittaker.
UFC on Fox 24 showcased once again why Demetrious Johnson has clearly earned the right of being dubbed the greatest pound for pound fighter in the world. His victory over Wilson Reis may not have shocked many in terms of the ultimate result, but the manner in which Johnson got the job done was nothing short of eye opening. Reis, while competitive in the opening frame, was ultimately dominated in the second and third rounds. I’ve got more to say about Johnson in a future article, but for now let’s focus on the other stars of UFC on Fox 24, namely Rose Namajunas and Robert Whittaker.
What Rose Namajunas was able to pull off in her victory over Michelle Waterson was nothing short of amazing. Both women were competitive in the co-main event, but it was Namajunas that would make the necessary adjustments to pull off the victory. Waterson utilized her side kick brilliantly but found herself in trouble after executed a head and arm throw, the most overused and dangerous technique in women’s MMA, and eventually found herself on the bottom of Namajunas. Rose would win the first frame handily but it’s what happened in the second round that had me most impressed.
Waterson’s side kicks were landing to Namajunas’ knee with continual thudding impact. Understanding this, Rose made a slight adjustment. Waterson was firing her kicks from a southpaw side stance. ‘The Karate Hottie’ made a fatal mistake by faking the kick with a chambered right leg but not resetting quickly. As Waterson lazily placed her right foot down to the mat, Namajunas shifted to her left, obtaining a strong outside angle, and launching a right high kick that floored her foe. From there it was a matter of some strong ground and pound, superior positioning and a deep rear naked choke. You’ve gotta think that Rose Namajunas is most likely going to be the next challenger for the strawweight belt.
Robert Whittaker also made a huge impression with his victory over Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza. What was perhaps most impressive about this one was how patient Robert Whittaker has become. No longer the slugging, overly aggressive striker that he once was, Whittaker has been able to adopt a far more strategic approach to his striking as of late. His karate background showed in this bout as he bounced on his toes, light on his feet, and shifting in and out with punches. But what was most impressive was his ability to feint and keep Jacare guessing with every exchange. Jacare had some success with his right hand and even landed a takedown, but he would eventually succumb to the two things that make Whittaker dangerous.
One, Whittaker feints a ton and every real strike he throws is done so with variety while appearing to seem like the same movement. His punches are tight and his elbows always stay tucked in towards the centerline. That makes it difficult for the opponent to see if he’s going to launch a jab or a hook with his left hand, a straight cross or an uppercut with his right. Whittaker was utilizing his jabs to get a read on what Jacare would counter back with, then, once he was comfortable with the timing, exploded forward with a sharp right cross. From there we saw the young middleweight land a variety of strikes including that rear uppercut and a high right kick that nearly shut off Jacare’s lights. Some follow ground and pound and an oddly timed stoppage later and you’ve got your next big middleweight contender. Since things are so log jammed at the top of the division however, it’s likely that Whittaker will have to wait for a title shot. That means he’ll have the distinct pleasure of facing off with either former champ Luke Rockhold or the terrifying Yoel Romero. That’s like picking your poison where those match ups are concerned.
What should come next for the new contenders at UFC on Fox 24?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
Wilson Reis is gracious in defeat. Last night (April 15), Reis took on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight title holder Demetrious Johnson. Reis couldn’t play spoiler as “Mighty Mouse” submitted him to tie Anderson Silva’s UFC record for most consecutive successful title defenses. It was a dominant performance by Johnson, who ended Reis’ three-fight winning […]
Wilson Reis is gracious in defeat. Last night (April 15), Reis took on Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight title holder Demetrious Johnson. Reis couldn’t play spoiler as “Mighty Mouse” submitted him to tie Anderson Silva’s UFC record for most consecutive successful title defenses. It was a dominant performance by Johnson, who ended Reis’ three-fight winning […]
Demetrious Johnson just made a case for being the greatest mixed martial artist (MMA) of all time. Earlier tonight (Sat. April 15, 2017) ‘Mighty Mouse’ made a record 10th consecutive flyweight title defense, tying former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s UFC record, when he took home a third round submission win over Wilson Reis in the
Demetrious Johnson just made a case for being the greatest mixed martial artist (MMA) of all time.
Earlier tonight (Sat. April 15, 2017) ‘Mighty Mouse’ made a record 10th consecutive flyweight title defense, tying former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s UFC record, when he took home a third round submission win over Wilson Reis in the main event of UFC on FOX 23. Johnson is now on a 12-fight win streak with half of those victories coming via finish.
UFC President Dana White spoke about Johnson’s performance at the post-fight press conference today, and had nothing but praise for his 125-pound champ’s performance inside the Octagon in Kansas City:
“What’s crazy is, he does what he does here tonight, right?” White said at the UFC on FOX 24 post-fight press conference. “And I’m doing an interview with Brazil and I start to walk away and I hear him (Demetrious) ask his coach ‘What did I do wrong?’ I stop and said ‘Hey, Coach, let me answer this for you. Nothing.’ First of all he looked incredible on his feet. The punch stat numbers are ridiculous, right? Then he goes to the ground and is absolutely dominating and goes for the most dangerous move you can try and pull off, an armbar.
“Not only pulling off an armbar when you’re dominating like that, but against a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion,” White said. “The guys’s an absolute freak of nature – Joe Rogan was blowing me up saying ‘This guy is a wizard, he’s the greatest ever,’ Rogan’s going – you know Rogan is a jiu-jitsu nut so he’s going crazy. So well deserved.”
Johnson hasn’t surpassed Silva’s title defense record quite yet, as one more victory will but the sole flyweight champ in promotion history over the top. White will hold off on calling ‘Mighty Mouse’ the greatest of all time out of respect to ‘The Spider’, but admits it’s hard to deny the 125-pound kingpin the moniker given his dominance in the last five years:
“Listen he’s got one more fight, and he breaks Anderson Silva’s record, and he continues – Listen he’s already the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, and he strives to be better each time, and he gets better each time,” White said. “Literally destroying people. This kid could be considered the G.O.A.T right now, or to give Anderson Silva the true respect you wait until he actually breaks the record. It’s hard to not call this guy the greatest of all time.”
Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy for USA TODAY Sports
After having essentially cleaned out the top contenders at 125 pounds Johnson finds himself in a bit of a predicament as it pertains to who will get the honor to challenge him for what could be a record-setting 11th consecutive title defense. White told MMA fans not to worry, however, as they’ll find a suitable opponent to challenge for Johnson’s throne next:
“Anderson Silva had that problem too,” said White. “When you run through guys as long as these two have run through guys – yeah. But I promise you we’ll find somebody.”
In response Johnson isn’t going to put much energy into worrying about the UFC’s promotion of his fights, much like the promotion doesn’t put much energy into promoting his bouts:
