UFC champ Demetrious Johnson: Mayweather-McGregor hoopla can't take away from my history

The UFC  lately was so focused on promoting “The Money Fight” between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor as the fight drew near, you could be forgiven if it slipped your mind that flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is on the verge of making significant history next weekend.

The UFC 215 headliner between Johnson and Ray Borg was announced on July 20. In case you’d been living under a rock, you know that was right in the middle of the madness that was Mayweather-McGregor, which was coming off a much-ballyhooed world tour.

Since then, the UFC hasn’t done much to hype Johnson’s impending history with a potential 11th consecutive title defense to surpass Anderson Silva. At least that’s how it feels coming off the Mayweather-McGregor hoopla that dominated the news cycle for the past two months.

Johnson, for what it’s worth, doesn’t seem to have much of a problem that his shot at history isn’t necessarily being played up the way it could – or should.

“At the end of the day it’s still going to be a historic night for me whether I win or lose. I plan on winning,” Johnson said on a conference call Thursday with reporters. “So, with that being said, I’m not going to let McGregor or Mayweather or their 6.5 million pay-per-view buys water down my thing. Or the UFC advertising UFC 216 instead of UFC 215 and (advertising) the May-Mac pay-per-views. That just shows you where their mind is at right now when it comes to promoting.

That’s a question you have to ask Dana White. For me, I’m focused to go out there and do what I do best.”

UFC 215 takes place Sept. 9 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

In Borg (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) faces an opponent not lacking confidence. Borg, the No. 5 fighter in the current USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, feels he has a lot going for him in terms of youth, preparation and standing out from Johnson’s previous competition.

“I’m going to be a lot younger,” Borg said. “I’m going to be a lot healthier, and I plan on using that to my advantage. …

“We stepped it up just to make sure that five rounds is going to be as easy as three rounds is. I’m not (Henry) Cejudo, I’m not Wilson (Reis). I’m not just a jiu-jitsu player. Wilson is just a jiu-jitsu player. Cejudo is just a wrestler. I’ve been training strictly MMA my whole life, so I can combine the wrestling and the jiu-jitsu and the boxing. … None of those guys were me.”

Borg’s confidence is so high, in fact, that he told MMAjunkie last week he would retire Johnson, a statement the champ simply laughs off.

“He ain’t retiring shit,” Johnson said. “I’m just getting started. I’m 31 years old. I’m feeling better than ever. Training is going easy, and I’ve already fought the hardest hitters and most athletic guys in the division. He’s a tough competitor, and we’ll see where his mouth is after fight night.”

For more on UFC 215, visit the UFC Rumors section of the site.