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Johnson afraid he tore LCL, will undergo MRI 'to make sure'

Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC flyweight title picture may be suspended for the next little while.

Just two days after he earned his ninth straight flyweight title defense with a unanimous decision over Tim Elliott at Saturday's The Ultimate Fighter 24 finale, Demetrious Johnson revealed on Monday's edition of "The MMA Hour" he tore the LCL in his left knee during the bout and will undergo an MRI this week to confirm the injury's severity.

"I’m going to go get an MRI possibly Tuesday or Wednesday," Johnson said, according to MMAFighting's Chuck Mindenhall. "I think I might have had a little tear in my LCL in my right knee. It happened in the first round of the fight when we were grappling, I heard a little pop, and I think I might have a pop or tear in the LCL.

"I had a tear in my left knee, I know the feeling of it. It's still swollen right now, when the swelling goes down I'll have an MRI to make sure."

In addition to the injury, Johnson had to fight through an early submission scare before regaining control of the proceedings and pinning Elliott on his back to take all three scorecards, but the champion claimed he's surmounted such adversity many times before.

"Adrenaline takes over. I've fought with a broken leg, a broken rib, a broken hand ... so when it popped I was like, OK, fun fun."

LCL injuries pale in comparison to ACL tears, which bodes well for Johnson's recovery time, assuming his prognosis is correct.

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