Demetrious Johnson is once again a champion — and once again the No. 1 flyweight in the world.
With a typically fantastic and surprisingly poetic performance, “Mighty Mouse” knocked out Adriano Moraes with a highlight-reel knockout knee this past Saturday at ONE on Prime Video 1 to claim the ONE Championship flyweight title. He reclaims the flyweight top spot after it avenged his only knockout loss in his entire career.
Johnson now has the ONE Belt to his list of accomplishments. This includes a run as UFC’s most dominant champion, a feat that prompted Johnson jumpfrog Deiveson Figueiredo over interim UFC champion Brandon Moreno in order to reclaim top spot in the most recent voting round for the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.
Johnson has had unmatched achievements over the last decade. He has now lost just twice since 2012, to Moraes (a series that now stands at 1-1) and to Henry Cejudo (who Johnson defeated by first-round knockout in their first meeting), and his time with ONE also includes winning a flyweight grand prix tournament in 2019 and an entertaining special rules bout victory over Muay Thai star Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
The vote wasn’t unanimous, however. Six panelists restored Johnson to No. 1 spot and the other two No. 1 votes going to Figueiredo and Moreno. A case could be made that the two UFC titleholders have faced stronger competition inside the octagon than Johnson has in the ONE arena, but given the emphatic statement Johnson just made in Singapore and his decorated history, there is no denying him his throne for now.
Do you accept Johnson’s ranking change? Is he right to be considered above his UFC peers? Is Figueiredo Still No. 1?
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