Opinion: Demetrious Johnson’s Weighty Issues

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media. With his one-sided destruction of Henry Cejudo at UFC 197, Demetrious Johnson has officially and utterly conquered the flyweight division. Since moving down the scale to 125 pounds, “Mighty Mouse” has been unbeatable. His ravaging of the division has made the rest of the UFC’s flyweights look about as weak as the lineup of middleweights that Anderson Silva annihilated during his reign of terror. The question now is whether or not Johnson should be forced to move up and face Dominick Cruz in a champion-versus-champion superfight. In the eyes of some, Johnson cannot truly become the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world without making the jump. However, the problem with this idea is that forcing Johnson out of his weight class shouldn’t be necessary to officially crown him as the best fighter in MMA today. He’s already earned that right. Johnson had his turn at bantamweight once before, and although he had an impressive run, his physical disadvantages were evident. When he stepped into the Octagon against Cruz in 2011, the size issues were pronounced. Not only was Cruz naturally the bigger fighter, he also held a five-inch height and four-inch reach advantage. Although Johnson was game, he simply couldn’t deal with the size and strength of Cruz, as “The Dominator” controlled the fight in the clinch and kept Johnson on his back during the later rounds. Were they to square off again, not much would change except the fact that Cruz hasn’t been nearly as active as Johnson. How would …

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