Johnson to defend flyweight title vs. Borg in UFC 215 main event
Demetrious Johnson is headed north of the border in pursuit of the UFC's title defense record.
"Mighty Mouse" will defend his flyweight title against Ray Borg in the main event of UFC 215 on Sept. 9 in Edmonton, Alberta, the promotion confirmed Thursday.
An 11th consecutive defense of the crown would give him sole ownership of the UFC's record, one he currently shares with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
The promotion had previously targeted former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for Johnson's next bout, although the champion's concerns over whether Dillashaw could make the 125-pound limit ultimately put the kibosh on the idea. UFC president Dana White later gave the champ's wishes a rather lukewarm endorsement before they were brought to fruition, and doubled down on his preference for a date with Dillashaw when speaking to TSN's Aaron Bronsteter on Thursday.
Johnson became the UFC's first and only flyweight champion with a split decision win over Joseph Benavidez nearly five years ago at UFC 152. His 10th and most recent title defense came against Wilson Reis at UFC on FOX 24, where he handed the Brazilian his first career submission loss in the third round. The 30-year-old Johnson hasn't tasted defeat since he fought Dominick Cruz at 135 pounds in October 2011.
The surging Borg heads into his first world title bout with back-to-back decision victories over Louis Smolka and Jussier Formiga. "The Tazmexican Devil" sports a UFC record of 5-2 and sits in the No. 3 spot of the promotion's divisional rankings.
The UFC's first trip to Edmonton will see women's bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes take on Valentina Shevchenko at Rogers Place in the co-headliner. The pair were initially booked to tangle at UFC 213 earlier this month, only for Nunes to pull out at the 11th hour with a case of sinusitis.
Nunes and Shevchenko first clashed at UFC 196, where the Brazilian saw her hand raised by unanimous decision.