'I wanted to finish the fight, but I couldn't', laments Johnson

Johnson (photo) defended the flyweight belt for the seventh time. Photo: Reproduction

Demetrious Johnson confirmed his reign in the UFC flyweight division on Saturday night (5) in Las Vegas (USA), Sunday morning in Brazil, when he defeated John Dodson to defend his belt for the seventh time. Even so, the champion showed only one frustration: not being able to end the fight before the judges' decision.

See too

Johnson beats Dodson, defends title and equals Aldo's record

In his bantamweight debut, Lineker submits in an insane fight on the preliminary card of UFC 191

Lineker's victory over Rivera is named 'Fight of the Night' at UFC 191

Even though he won the fight relatively easily, Johnson stated that his goal was to get a submission or knockout. He believed that, with Dodson tired after the fourth round, his desire was something that could be achieved.

“My coaches always tell me that I can never feel right. He was successful in defending the takedowns, but I was working on the clinch as well to tire him out. And he got tired. I didn't go crazy at him. I wanted to be more patient. My ultimate goal was to end the fight, but I couldn't get to that point”, lamented the champion, in a press conference shortly after the fight.

With seven title defenses, Johnson equals the record of José Aldo, who defended the UFC featherweight title the same number of times. The absolute record holder is Anderson Silva, with ten among the midfielders.