UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson won’t require surgery for a recent knee injury, but he will be out of action for the next several months.
Johnson defended his title for the ninth time at The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale, defeating Tim Elliot by unanimous decision. If he successfully defends the belt in his next outing, Johnson will have tied Anderson Silva‘s record for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history with ten.
Odds are good that he will achieve that record, but when it will happen is an entirely different story.
After defeating Elliott, Johnson revealed that he injured his right knee in the fight, believing that he might have suffered a partial tear of his lateral collateral ligament (LCL).
Following a recent MRI, Johnson did not injure his LCL, but suffered a tear in his popliteus muscle, according to a report by MMAFighting.com.
Although Johnson is hoping to avoid surgery and expects the injury to heal on its own in three to five weeks, he doesn’t intend to fight again any time soon.
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“I am going to let this heal and not rush back in there,” he told MMAFighting, saying he’d like to return “maybe April or may, but if my injury needs more time, I’ll let it heal.”
