Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Demetrious Johnson had an extremely good year in 2013. He was a title contender at bantamweight, but he is a force to be reckoned with at flyweight. There just isn’t anyone who can defeat this man in 2014.
Johnson defended his title three times in 2013, and each time he won convincingly. He started the year off by surviving an early rush from John Dodson to outpoint the “Magician” to an unanimous decision. He made the record his first stoppage since 2010 when he submitted John Moraga in the final minutes of the fight. He then capped off the year perfectly with the first round destruction of Joseph Benavidez.
“Mighty Mouse” truly lives up to the name with both his power and speed inside the octagon. No one can match him punch-for-punch and those who wish to take him down cannot perform the task. Those who are able to get lucky enough to ground the champ cannot hold him there.
Many have talked about Johnson jumping back up in weight to 135, but it’s hard to see that happening with so many new challengers waiting to get a crack to the title. Finding qualified contenders will be the hard part.
Benavidez is the second best flyweight around and he will not be competing for the title again unless someone gets lucky enough to dethrone the champ, which is unlikely. Dodson is the third best flyweight, and there is still a chance he will get a rematch in 2014.
Ian McCall, currently ranked third in the UFC rankings, has already battled Johnson to a draw and a loss. It would be hard to see him get another crack at Johnson. That leaves a long list of hopefuls to sort out the mess.
It is likely that the winner of John Lineker vs. Ali Bagautinov will be the next person to fight for the flyweight strap. Neither of those two will dethrone the champ. The only person who stands an opportunity to beat the champ is Dodson, who is at least a fight or two away from challenging for the belt again.
At the end of 2014, Johnson will still be the UFC flyweight champion.
Anthony Cloud is a MMA Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Google or like him on Facebook.
