Happy birthday, Mighty Mouse: Demetrious Johnson's 5 best moments
Demetrious Johnson turned 30 on Saturday, but don't expect his dominant run to slow down anytime soon.
The UFC flyweight champion has already broken every record in the 125-pound division, and has his sights set on his ninth consecutive title defense later this year, which would tie him for second place in UFC history with Georges St-Pierre.
Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the UFC's official pound-for-pound rankings. To celebrate his birthday, here are five of the champ's greatest achievements.
The first UFC flyweight champion
In 2012, the UFC introduced its 125-pound division with a star-studded four-man tournament that included Johnson, bantamweight title contender Joseph Benavidez, regional standout Ian McCall, and Japanese stud Yasuhiro Urushitani.
Johnson's flyweight debut got off to a rocky start when he went to a three-round draw versus McCall - an outcome that shouldn't have happened, as officials were supposed to allow for a fourth round in the event of a tied scorecard. That close fight was wiped clean from the record, and Johnson went on to win a much more convincing decision over McCall in a rematch.
After Benavidez knocked out Urushitani, a fight was set between the tournament favorites for the inaugural belt. Johnson came out on top with a razor-thin split decision to etch his name in the history books.
Down goes Benavidez
In his rise to champion status, Johnson had developed a reputation as a gifted martial artist who lacked the killer instinct needed to finish fights. Under the Zuffa umbrella, he had gone to the judges in six of his eight wins prior to a rematch with Benavidez.
The narrative going into the fight was that "Mighty Mouse" would once again need to hustle his way to a decision while avoiding Benavidez's one-punch knockout power.
Instead, it was Johnson who shut Benavidez down with a devastating right hook two minutes into the opening round of the UFC on FOX 9 main event.
There wasn't much talk about Johnson being unable to finish fights after that one.
Cleaning out the division
Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo was the last obstacle standing in the way of Johnson's flyweight supremacy. Undefeated and with a wrestling pedigree that would keep him from being bullied by Johnson, "The Messenger" entered their UFC 197 bout as a live underdog.
It turned out the only thing wrong with the odds is that they should've been even heavier in Johnson's favor.
Johnson shrugged off Cejudo's grappling attempts before chasing him across the cage and crumpling him with a knee to the midsection. The bout was waved off at the 2:49 mark of the first round.
With the dismantling of Cejudo, Johnson had wins over multiple top-10 opponents, including two apiece over rivals Benavidez and John Dodson. His invincibility has prompted the UFC to search for his next challenger through their "The Ultimate Fighter" reality show in a last-ditch attempt to find a fresh face for him to punch.
A championship buzzer-beater
It was Johnson's finish of Kyoji Horiguchi that cemented his reputation as a stone-cold killer.
The flyweight king had spent the entirety of his five-round fight with Horiguchi schooling him in every facet of the game, but he wasn't content with sweeping the scorecards. Instead, he ferociously attacked Horiguchi in the closing seconds to secure an armbar submission.
With one second left in Round 5, it was the latest finish ever in a UFC title fight.
Going the distance with Cruz
One of Johnson's two career losses may seem like an odd choice for a highlight, but it's important to remember that he was a world-title contender before he had a division in which to compete at his ideal weight.
Johnson parlayed wins over cult heroes Miguel Torres and Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto into a meeting with bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in October 2011.
It's easy to forget that Johnson went toe to toe with Cruz in the striking department, and, were it not for the smarts, size advantage, and superb wrestling of Cruz earning him the decision, Johnson could have had UFC gold around his waist a lot earlier.