Adesanya asks a question in the controversy about the best in history: 'What about Demetrious Johnson?'

I. Adesanya at a UFC press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube UFC

The recent retirements of Anderson Silva e Khabib Nurmagomedov In MMA, intense discussions about who is the best athlete of all time in the sport have reignited. Current middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg.), Israel adesanya was bothered by the absence of a specific name in the common lists, which generally also have Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre.

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“If we want to talk about the best of all time in Ultimate, everyone forgot about Demetrious Johnson? He is a perfect fighter, or close to perfection”, said the Nigerian, in an interview with 'Submission Radio'.

UFC representative between 2011 and 2018, Demetrious, in fact, was an athlete who dominated the flyweight category (up to 56,7kg) for years. Johson won the division title in September 2012, becoming the first champion in the company's group history.

The North American remained at the top for almost six years, even winning the record for title defenses (11), which previously belonged to Anderson Silva (10). Johnson's hegemony was ended by Henry Cejudo, in 2018, when 'Triplo C' beat the then champion in a split decision from the judges.

Although he was an extremely dominant division leader, Demetrious was never unanimous, at least according to UFC management. The company's president, Dana White, has already publicly stated that Johnson's commitment was little compared to the fighter's achievements within the organization.

After the setback for Cejudo, Demetrious was involved in a move to ONE FC. At the time, the former UFC champion left for a new experience at the competing company and, in exchange, Ben Askren arrived at Ultimate.

In October last year, Johnson, 34, won the ONE flyweight title by winning the Grand Prix promoted by the company.

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