Demetrious Johnson thought Alexandre Pantoja was headed for GOAT status.
On Saturday, Pantoja defend his flyweight title for the fifth, taking on Joshua Van in the co-main event of UFC 323 in Las Vegas. It also ended up being the final time, at least for now, as just a few moments into the fight, Pantoja suffered a gruesome arm injury while posting to prevent ending up on the ground. The fight was immediately waived off and Van won the title in just 26 seconds in an outcome that shocked everyone, including Johnson”Mighty Mouse,” who posted a reaction video to his YouTube channel.
“That’s part of the game, guys,” Johnson said. “To keep going in, and doing it over and over, time and time again, over and over and over, it’s hard. It’s a sport where anything can f*cking happen.”
The loss was obviously heartbraking for Pantoja, who has already firmly established himself as the second-greatest flyweight ever, behind Johnson, as a win would have moved him into very elite company historically. And for Johnson, he thought Pantoja was primed to make a run at his record of 11 title defenses.
“I truly felt that Alex Pantoja was going to be able to break my 11 consecutive title defenses,” Johnson said. “Even though he was only at five — he still had six or seven more to go — but I didn’t see anybody on the rise that was going to give him a challenge. Granted, Alex Pantoja is 35 years old, and now that he has lost the belt, that clock starts all over, baby! [Smiling]”
Johnson is one of just six fighters in UFC history to record double digit wins in title bouts, and at this point, it’s unlikely Pantoja even matches Johnson in that regard, much less his consecutive title defense record. And while fans have become increasingly enamored with double champion status in the modern MMA culture, Johnson points to Pantoja’s upset at UFC 323 as a prime example of why what he accomplished was so special.
“All I’ve got to say is, when you think about trying to be consistent in MMA, whether I was ahead of my time, or I was just that f*cking good, or everybody just sucked, as you guys said, showing up 11 consecutive times, on weight, passing every single drug test, and being dominant, and continuing to get better, throwing the Mighty Whizbar, and the flying knee, and all that stuff, it just shows you how hard it is to do,” Johnson said.
Negative. Dana White responds to Tom Aspinall: ‘Never once did I say anything negative about him.’
Rematch. Petr Yan teases that Merab Dvalishvili may not get immediate rematch after UFC 323.
Loss. Merab Dvalishvili releases first statement after losing title to Petr Yan at UFC 323.
Injury. Alexandre Pantoja releases statement after gruesome injury ends title reign at UFC 323.
Class. Joshua Van responds to critics downplaying UFC 323 title win: ‘F*ck them.’
Gnarly. Henry Cejudo shows off bloody, bruised, and swollen face after final fight at UFC 323.
Beef. Paddy Pimblett explains why ‘sh*t’ Arman Tsarukyan didn’t get a title shot, Tsarukyan fires back.
UFC 323 Post-Fight Scrums.
Daniel Cormier reacts to UFC 323.
Michael Bisping reacts to UFC 323.
Israel Adesanya reacts to UFC 323.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Talk your ish, Petr, you earned it.
Merab is in good spirits despite the loss.
Merab is next. It is already clear.
Sean O’Malley live reactions.
Might be the best joke Cejudo has ever told.
Sean Strickland (29-7) vs. Anthony Hernandez (15-2, 1 NC); UFC Houston, Feb. 21.
I had a great time watching UFC 323. Yes, draws are always weird, and sure, the co-main event was not satisfying, but the fights were mostly bangers and a bunch of weird stuff happened. It reminded me why I love this sport, because you never know what’s going to happen.
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