Demetrious Johnson: UFC Record, Best Fights and Career Facts

Birthdate: August 13, 1986 (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database)) · Height and weight class: 5 ft 3 in; flyweight, 125 lbs (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database)) · Consecutive UFC flyweight title defenses: 11 (Wikipedia (crowd-edited encyclopedia))

Seven fields anchor the career profile, and most of them come from one stats listing.

What is Demetrious Johnson’s professional UFC record?

According to FightMatrix (MMA ranking database), Johnson’s UFC record is 15-2-1, with two losses and one draw inside the promotion. The whole-career figure is harder to pin down. The sources do not explain why the listings differ.

Four listings, two whole-career totals: the figure splits between 27-3-1 and 25-4-1 depending on the database.

Who has 0 losses in the UFC?

• No source names a fighter with a zero-loss UFC career.
• Johnson is not that fighter, since UFC Stats records two UFC losses for him (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database)).

The implication: a single career figure will not settle an argument about Johnson. Quote the database, the date, and whether the count covers the UFC alone.

The catch: until one database reconciles the totals, any career figure needs its database and date attached.

What are Demetrious Johnson’s best fights?

No ranked list of Johnson’s best fights with stated criteria appears in the available reporting, so this section applies its own standard: title stakes, finishes, and streak context, each tied to a named source. Anything beyond that would be opinion without a basis in the available sources.

Johnson’s reign produced the strongest evidence. He won the inaugural UFC flyweight title by split decision over Joseph Benavidez on September 22, 2012 (ESPN (national sports network)), and the defenses that followed form the core of his case.

• January 26, 2013: first title defense, a unanimous decision over John Dodson after Johnson was dropped twice in the first round (UFC.com (official UFC news)).
• April 23, 2016: a UFC 197 win over Henry Cejudo by TKO, knees to the body, at 2:49 of round one (Sherdog (MMA records database)).
• October 7, 2017: an armbar win over Ray Borg at UFC 216 for the 11th consecutive defense, according to Sportskeeda (sports news site).
• April 25, 2015: a submission of Kyoji Horiguchi at 4:59 of round five at UFC 186, which MMA Junkie (USA Today MMA coverage) describes as the latest stoppage in a UFC fight at the time of its writing.

The streak itself is the rarer achievement. According to MMA Junkie (USA Today MMA coverage), his 13-fight UFC winning streak is the longest in flyweight history. UFC.com (official UFC news) records that his 11th defense broke the mark of 10 set by Anderson Silva.

Has Mighty Mouse ever lost a fight?

Yes. Depending on the database, the count is three or four. CageGrid’s whole-career total implies three losses, while Sherdog’s 25-4-1 implies four.

Who won against Demetrious Johnson?

• Brad Pickett won a decision in April 2010, a pre-UFC loss that Sherdog (MMA records database) lists as Johnson’s first career loss.
• Dominick Cruz won a unanimous decision on October 1, 2011 at bantamweight, not flyweight (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database)). Ring History (MMA results archive) records the scores as 50-45, 49-46 and 50-45.
• Henry Cejudo won a split decision at UFC 227 on August 4, 2018 (Sherdog (MMA records database)).
• Adriano Moraes won by KO on April 7, 2021 in ONE Championship, according to Sportskeeda (sports news site).

The catch: the named winners come from databases that do not match on totals, so each loss needs a date and a source before it is repeated.

Why did Mighty Mouse quit the UFC?

The available sources do not confirm a reason for Johnson leaving the UFC. What they show is a stats profile that lists him as inactive, with no departure date or statement attached (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database)).

In a 2017 interview, Johnson set a goal of 15 to 18 title defenses and retiring as champion (ESPN UK (UK sports coverage)). His last UFC fight, a loss to Cejudo on August 4, 2018, ended that path inside the promotion, but no available source links the two events.

At what age do fighters peak?

• No available source covers peak age in MMA, so this question stays open.
• Johnson said in 2017 that he was 30 and still young enough to chase 15 consecutive defenses (UFC.com (official UFC news)).

The implication: a departure story needs a primary statement, and the available sources contain only the stats-profile status and his 2017 goals.

Who is the lowest-paid UFC fighter?

The available sources contain no verified per-fighter pay figures, so no ranking of the lowest-paid fighter can be sourced here. Pay claims about Johnson or anyone else need a named disclosure, and none appears in the available reporting.

Ownership questions travel with pay questions. The available reporting lists Dana White’s reported 9% stake and the relative net worth of Conor McGregor and White as unresolved, and no source confirms either figure.

Pay and ownership claims without a source

• Johnson’s current pay rank among UFC fighters: no verified source available
• Dana White’s 9% stake in the UFC: unconfirmed
• Relative net worth of Conor McGregor and Dana White: unconfirmed

The trade-off: a sourced answer would require a disclosure document or a primary statement, and the available sources provided neither. Readers get an honest gap instead of a number.

Timeline

• May 28, 2011: Johnson’s UFC debut win over Miguel Torres (ESPN (national sports network))
• October 1, 2011: Dominick Cruz wins at bantamweight (UFC Stats (official UFC fight database))
• September 22, 2012: Johnson wins the inaugural UFC flyweight title (ESPN (national sports network))
• January 26, 2013: first title defense over John Dodson (UFC.com (official UFC news))
• April 23, 2016: defense over Cejudo at UFC 197 (Sherdog (MMA records database))
• October 7, 2017: 11th consecutive defense at UFC 216 (according to Sportskeeda (sports news site))
• August 4, 2018: Cejudo wins the title at UFC 227 (Sherdog (MMA records database))
• August 27, 2022: Johnson wins the ONE Flyweight Championship by KO over Adriano Moraes (according to Sportskeeda (sports news site))

The pattern: the timeline is dense through the title reign and thins after the 2018 loss, which is why the post-UFC questions rest on fewer sources.

Confirmed facts and open questions

The pattern: every item in the confirmed column carries a named source, while the open column lists what no source settles.

What Johnson has said

“I’m still young – I’m 30 – and if I can get to 15 (consecutive successful title defenses), why not?”

Demetrious Johnson, UFC flyweight champion, in UFC.com (official UFC news)

In a May 16, 2017 interview with ESPN UK (UK sports coverage), Johnson said he hoped to reach 20 defenses and was on pace for two or three fights per year. He also said he might get to around 18 and walk away from the sport as champion.

Johnson also said his focus was on becoming the best fighter in the world, as reported by UFC.com (official UFC news).

All of these statements come from Johnson himself. The available sources contain no direct statement from a second named speaker, so this section cannot set his account against anyone else’s.

Where the record stands

The record is firm where it matters most: 11 title defenses, a 2012 title win, and a 2018 split-decision loss that ended the reign. The whole-career total, the pay questions and the ownership claims depend on which database or disclosure a reader trusts. Writers who cite Johnson must name the database and date behind each record figure, or they will repeat a total that the sources dispute.

Related reading

The first link is a career profile of another UFC fighter, and the second covers record verification, the same problem this guide faces.

• Justin Gaethje career record and profile
• Justin Gaethje verified record and fight-count discrepancies

The implication: a reader who wants a second case study in record verification can start with the second link.

Frequently asked questions