After submission that shocked his coaches, Demetrious Johnson plans to grow title defense record

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Wilson Reis found out the hard way on Saturday night that if he asks Demetrious Johnson to go to the canvas with him to play around in the grappling world, “Mighty Mouse” will oblige.

Reis (22-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at multiple times in his UFC on FOX 24 flyweight title headliner wanted champ Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) to go to the mat with him. There, Reis no doubt figured, he’d have his best chance at taking the belt, given he’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

Johnson made him stand up the first couple times. But late in the third, Johnson found himself in Reis’ world on the ground – and he stunned him by latching on to an arm and executing a perfect armbar to get the challenger to tap … for the first time in his long career.

“He’s had 30 MMA fights. He’s a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and that was the first time he’s ever gotten submitted,” Johnson told MMAjunkie after the fight. “That just shows you the type of stuff I’m working up with with Matt Hume and Brad Kertson at AMC Pankration in Kirland, Wash. I’m a white belt in jiu-jitsu, and I haven’t really been able to put a lot of time into my gi game. But I’m always putting a lot of effort into my submission grappling.”

UFC on FOX 24 took place Saturday at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The card aired on FOX following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

The victory gave Johnson a record-tying 10 straight title defenses, knotting him up with former pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva. But now it’s Johnson who is the No. 1 fighter in the world – and possible the greatest of all time.

Still, even the greatest wouldn’t have thought to predict he’s submit a BJJ elite.

“Ever since I was an amateur, I never put predictions on my fights,” Johnson said. “I’m well-rounded enough that if I see something, I can capitalize on that. I think after the fight, when I got up, I looked at my coaches and they were like, ‘What?! Good job!’ I mean, I have the skill set to do it, so I was happy to be able to work the things that we worked on – and everything just worked out perfect.”

Now Johnson says he’ll set his sights on breaking the record and he Silva share for consecutive title defenses – and he sees no reason he can’t set the bar even higher.

How about 13 straight title defenses? Or 14? Time will tell, but “Mighty Mouse” has established himself himself as arguably the best in history, so the number might be whatever he wants it to be.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 24, check out the UFC Events section of the site.