Scouting Report: Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson

Born: Aug. 13, 1986 (Age: 36) in Madisonville, Kentucky
Division: Bantamweight
Height: 5’3”
Reach: 66”
Record: 24-4-1 (4-1 ONE)
Association: AMC Pankration
Stage of Career: Post-Prime

Summary: Johnson ranks as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all-time by any reasonable estimation. His striking is predicated on fantastic footwork and movement, as he darts in and out with powerful and accurate right hands—the cross and the hook—and an outstanding array of kicks, along with dangerous jumping knees. His wrestling is terrific, and his top game rivals anyone’s in the sport’s history, with suffocating control and a phenomenal ability to pull off submissions, even against highly skilled grapplers. However, at bantamweight, he is badly undersized, making it difficult to grapple effectively against the larger fighters in the weight class. Johnson still has outstanding cardio as he enters his late 30s. His chin has always been difficult to crack but appears to be getting weaker with age and natural decline. Nevertheless, a past-his-prime “Mighty Mouse” remains an excellent world-class fighter.

STRIKING

• Stance: Orthodox, though he switches constantly.
• Hand Speed: Significantly above average.
• Jab: Good, though he rarely uses it, which makes sense given his diminutive stature at bantamweight.
• Cross: Fast, powerful and accurate.
• Left Hook: Rarely throws it but excellent when he does.
• Right Hook: Carries similar properties to his cross.
• Overhand Right: Does not utilize it.
• Uppercuts: Almost never throws them.
• Solitary Striker or Volume Puncher: Can be more of a one-shot sniper since he does not want to get caught, but he opens up with impressive combinations if he senses an opening or the opponent is hurt.
• Favorite Combination(s): Loves to mix in a kick after throwing his right hand, which is highly effective.
• Leg Kicks: Fast, sudden, powerful and accurate.
• Body Kicks: Same characteristics as his leg kicks.
• Head Kicks: Shares similarities with his other kicks, and he throws them with tremendous flexibility.
• Knees: Sudden and dynamic, with impressive power and accuracy, whether they are aimed at the body or even the chin. He knocked out Henry Cejudo with them in their first fight and finished off Moraes with one in their rematch.
• Chains Kicks to Punches: Yes, and he does so exceedingly well.

Johnson has a unique striking style. Grounded in his superb movement, he only concentrates on a few punches on top of his amazing array of kicks and one of the best knees in MMA. The punches he uses are the right cross and right hook, but they are both outstanding, being fast, powerful and accurate. Even in his most recent fight, the Moraes rematch, the right cross set up the finish. Johnson’s kicks, however, often tip his spear, as he excels at all of them, regardless of which part of the body he chooses to attack. Given how seamlessly he switches stances and the fact that he can chain a kick to the end of a punch, they are practically impossible to stop. Additionally, Johnson has one of the best knees in the sport. Utilizing his great athleticism and intelligence, he times opponents with an explosive, accurate, and powerful knee, whether he aims it to the body or head.

CLINCH

• Physical Strength: Tremendous at flyweight but less so at 135 pounds, where he is usually outsized and can be outmuscled by bigger opponents.
• Technique: Situates his body perfectly, with a mastery of all positions.
• Knees: Powerful and accurate, just like when he throws them at range.
• Elbows: Not a consistent weapon, but they are accurate and impactful when thrown.
• Defense Against Knees/Elbows: Able to stifle most opponents, but his lack of height works against him at bantamweight.

Johnson was a terror in the clinch at flyweight, as he either demolished opponents with his beautiful knees and occasional short elbow or took them down. Matters are not as simple at bantamweight, where he is too small and looks far more vulnerable to being taken down himself. As a result, he cannot rely as much on his devastating knee strikes at close range.

GRAPPLING

• Wrestling from a Shot: Incredibly fast and relentless, with the ability to take down other good grapplers. Less effective as a bantamweight due to the size discrepancies.
• Wrestling in the Clinch: Immensely strong with perfect technique. However, his lack of size has proven quite telling in certain clinches at 135 pounds.
• Takedown Defense: Stellar at flyweight, as even Cejudo had little success. Remains stout as a bantamweight, through he can be taken down by larger opponents, especially in the clinch. Moraes demonstrated as much in their rematch.
• Ability to Return to Feet: He was phenomenal in this area in his prime, but a combination of heavier opponents at bantamweight and age and injuries means that he often takes a while to get separation and wall walk. He used to easily hip escape and exploding back to an upright position.
• Submissions: Perfect technique, alone with a ridiculous ability to calculate transitions and make the correct decisions.
• Defense/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the Bottom: Outstanding. Constantly works to gain separation or throw up submissions and avoids significant damage from ground-and-pound.
• Top Control: Utterly phenomenal.
• Ground-and-Pound: Decent, but he definitely prioritizes submissions over striking.

Johnson’s grappling was superlative at flyweight, but it has proven much more difficult to get going at 135 pounds. He is a relentless wrestler who can secure takedowns from a shot or the clinch, though bantamweight opponents are often too big for him. His top control remains phenomenal, and he is a major threat to pull off submissions from there. Defensively, he can now be taken down himself, and in stark contrast to his earlier years at a lower weight class, opponents can keep him on the canvas for a while. He does not absorb much damage in bottom position, but it can result in lost rounds.

INTANGIBLES

• Athleticism/General Physical Strength: Still excellent. Johnson was immensely strong and dynamic at 125 pounds. Those qualities are not as pronounced now that he competes at a heavier weight class at age 36.
• Cardio: Perhaps the best in MMA history. He can fight at a breakneck pace for 25 straight minutes if necessary.
• Chin: It remains a strength, but it has weakened with age and mileage. He has been visibly hurt on a number of occasions in One Championship.
• Recuperative Powers: Recovers quickly from being hurt by big strikes.
• Intelligence: One of the all-time greats. Makes consistently smart tactical decisions, seizes opportunities at every turn—even when there are only a few seconds with which to work—and masterfully applies brilliant gameplans over the course of five full rounds.