Demetrious Johnson: I’d rather be 12-time defending champ than two-division title-holder

Reigning UFC flyweight champion and top pound-for-pound fighter Demetrious Johnsoncurrently holds the most number of successful title defenses with a total of 11. While his next fight is still undetermined, the matchup that has been brought up for him is a possible fight against current bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw.

Dillashaw is willing to drop down to 125-pounds and be the second fighter in the UFC to hold titles in two weight divisions consecutively. “Mighty Mouse”, however, is more interested in cementing himself in history by constantly defending his titles against all challengers.

“I don’t care about being Champ-Champ,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s episode ofThe MMA Hour (transcript via BJPenn.com). “I’d rather be the only, 12-time consecutive defending champion in any mixed martial arts promotion. You look at ONE FC; they’ve got double Champ-Champs.”

“There are multiple Champ-Champs out in the world. Don’t be surprised if Bellator has a Champ-Champ [soon]… The Champ-Champ is old news nowadays. But you know what’s brand new news? 11-time defending champion. That’s brand f—ng new news.”

Another reason why Mighty Mouse refuses to move up in weight is that he admits being at an utter disadvantage, which does not make it a wise idea to begin with.

“Let me be freakin’ honest, if I went up there and beat TJ Dillashaw at 135 pounds, I have no interest whatsoever in staying at 135,” he said. “People are like ‘why not?’ I have no interest in fighting guys who walk around at 160 pounds. I literally have no interest.

“It puts more wear and tear on your body, it’s going to do X, Y, and Z. I’m looking for the longevity of my career. I want to fight for another five to six years, whether I win or lose, and I’m going to be able to do that fighting guys who are my size.”

Mighty Mouse last fought in October at UFC 216, where he scored a spectacular fifth-round armbar submission against Ray Borg. He also won $50,000 for Performance of the Night.

The interview begins at the 29:15 mark of the video above.