UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He’s defended the 125-pound belt a record ten times and hasn’t tasted defeat in six years. The last person to beat Johnson was Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title in 2011.
Johnson has cleared out the flyweight division, and Cruz, now the former bantamweight titleholder, believes “Mighty Mouse” could win the 135-pound championship.
“Realistically, and I mean this because I’ve fought him, I think he does great against Cody (Garbrandt) and TJ (Dillashaw) because I’ve seen their styles,” Cruz said while appearing on The MMA Hour.
Garbrandt defeated Cruz at UFC 207 to capture the bantamweight crown. He’s expected to face former champion Dillashaw at UFC 213 in July. Cruz believes that Johnson’s speed would give Garbrandt and Dillashaw problems.
“I think that he’d be too quick for both TJ and Cody. Do I think that they have more power and they’re stronger than him? Yes,” he said. “He can change his style up according to each style that he faces and make the best win scenario for himself.”
“I think that the speed that he has and how tough he is to hit, and the fact that TJ or Cody don’t really wrestle or grapple at all in their fights, I think that makes a good match-up for Demetrious,” added Cruz.
Garbrandt and Dillashaw have wrestling backgrounds, but Cruz doesn’t think their wrestling pedigree will be enough to put “Mighty Mouse” on his back.
“Demetrious Johnson moves his feet, floats non-stop, never stops moving, never sits still. The takedowns won’t be there.”
