Demetrious Johnson Would Rather Fight Cody Garbrandt At Bantamweight
If Demetrious Johnson were to step into the Octagon against Cody Garbrandt, the flyweight champ would like to do so at 135 pounds.
Johnson, the sole flyweight champion in UFC history as well as arguably the promotion’s most dominant champion of all time, prepares to defend his 125-pound strap for a record 10th consecutive time tomorrow night (Sat. April 15, 2017) against Wilson Reis. ‘Mighty Mouse’ has dominated the 125-pound division since its inception and has long been called for to move up in weight to see if he can continue his dominance at bantamweight.
The current 135-pound champ, Cody Garbrandt, would be an interesting fight for the flyweight king, who tells TNS’s Aaron Bronsteter that if that fight were to be booked he’d like to compete at bantamweight (quotes via Bloody Elbow):
“Obviously 135,” Johnson said. “They’re both compelling, but for me, I’d just go up. That way, if I win, I get his belt. I can stay at (1)35. For him to come down to (1)25 and he wins, does he keep the belt or does he relinquish it? Because if he comes down and beats me (and return to bantamweight), then I’ll just fight for the belt again and get it back. Like, ‘Thanks!’ But yeah, it’s a great fight, and if it happens, it happens.”
Garbrandt is currently undefeated in his mixed martial arts (MMA) career and comes off of a monumental win over Dominick Cruz to win the bantamweight title. ‘No Love’ ended ‘The Dominator’s’ near decade undefeated streak and is now set to make his first career title defense against former teammate turned hated rival TJ Dillashaw at UFC 213 on pay-per-view (PPV).
Johnson hasn’t suffered a loss since 2011 when Cruz took home a unanimous decision win over ‘Mighty Mouse’ in Washington. Since then Johnson has become the first and only flyweight champion in UFC history and is currently on a 11-fight win streak.
In the main event of UFC on FOX 24 tomorrow night from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, Johnson will attempt to tie former middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s title defense record at 10 against submission specialist Wilson Reis.
