Mailbag: Demetrious Johnson’s retirement, Sean Brady’s big win, and Noche UFC

UFC Vegas 97 is in the books and it’s full steam ahead to UFC 306 AKA Noche UFC redux.

This past Saturday, Sean Brady scored the biggest win of his career, taking a unanimous decision over Gilbert Burns to put himself in the thick of the title hunt at 170 pounds. That wasn’t the biggest news of the week though as all-time great Demetrious Johnson stole the headlines by announcing his retirement from MMA.

We got questions on all of it this week so let’s dive right in.

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Demetrious Johnson

“If science tells us #chickenscantbegoats can a Mouse be a GOAT?”

The biggest news of the previous week was that Demetrious Johnson officially retired from MMA this past weekend, and while we’ve already talked a bit about his legacy and place in the sport, now is as good a time as any to dive a little deeper.

Simply put, Demetrious Johnson is one of six male fighters who have a credible case for the title of Greatest of All Time. I understand that things like the GOAT debate are inherently subjective, but by reasonable standards, the list is DJ, Jose Aldo, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Fedor Emelianenko. They are the only fighters who truly dominated their divisions for years on end with numerous title defenses (you will not find a bigger Khabib Nurmagomedov fan than I am, but his time at the top was cut short and so he’s left out in this particular conversation).

Now as far as the GOAT conversation goes, I don’t really care who you rank No. 1. So long as it’s one of those six, you’re not wrong because you can nitpick problems with any of their résumés. On any given day I might change my mind and prioritize one or the other, because once you get into this pantheon of talent, it’s all splitting hairs. But the important part is that he’s one of the six, which is incredibly exclusive company (more men have walked on the moon!).

On top of that, “Mighty Mouse” has a record which I don’t believe will be broken in our lifetimes: 11 UFC title defenses is categorically insane (he should actually share this record with Anderson Silva, but Silva’s fight against Travis Lutter didn’t count as a defense since Lutter missed weight) and in the current era of the UFC where every fighter is obsessed with champ-champ status, it’s exceedingly unlikely someone puts in the work to hold a belt for six or seven years without getting distracted. Alexander Volkanovski, Kamaru Usman, and Israel Adesanya are all-time greats. Each of them have five title defenses. DJ doubled them up. It’s insane.

And on top of all of this, Johnson is one of the few men in that GOAT pantheon that has no real controversy. He’s a great guy who never had any issues outside the cage. Anderson popped for performance-enhancing drugs, Fedor never fought in the UFC, Jon Jones, well, do I even need to go into all that?

Demetrious Johnson is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, and while I’m sad to see him walk away, I’m glad he’s doing it on his terms. The UFC Hall of Fame awaits.

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Alternate Universe

“Had DJ remained in the UFC and not been traded, do you think he would have regained the belt?”

When DJ retired last weekend, after I was done thinking about his greatest moments, the very next thought that struck me was how unfulfilling the end of his career was for me as a fan.

Johnson was one half of, to this point, the only trade in UFC history when Dana White shipped Mighty Mouse to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren. It was a big deal at the time, and ultimately, a trade I think all parties were happy with. DJ seemed to like ONE, got to do more things than just fight MMA, and got paid handsomely; ONE got to promote having the best fighter in the world; and the UFC got Askren, who made headlines, drew interest, and ultimately elevated Jorge Masvidal to a superstar. That’s a win-win-win.

But though everyone made out well in the trade, I can’t help but think that we as fans lost a heck of a lot. Aside from his trilogy with Adriano Moraes, DJ’s fights in ONE simply weren’t that compelling. The odd mixed-rules fight with Rodtang was silly, and the rest were forgettable. In fact the only reason the Moraes series was fun was because Moraes pulled off the upset the first time around.

Compare that with the likely events should Johnson not have been traded. A trilogy fight with Henry Cejudo is first up, and I personally thought DJ won the second fight as well. It’s 50/50 that he just immediately reclaims the title and if that happens, maybe Cejudo never moves up to bantamweight. Maybe DJ finally does?

Or if Johnson doesn’t go up to 135, instead we get to seem him fight against the new generation of flyweights that came along after he left and Cejudo retired. You’re telling me you wouldn’t have loved to see Mighty Mouse vs. Deiveson Figueiredo or Brandon Moreno, or Alexandre Pantoja? All of those fights could have happened and would have been fun as hell. And frankly, I still liked DJ’s chances in any of them.

So yes, I think he would have reclaimed the title, and I’m a bit sad we didn’t get to see his final act take place in the UFC.

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UFC Vegas 97

“What does a Sean Brady vs. Ian Machado Garry fight look like, and are you interested in that next?”

Pivoting back to the stuff in fight world, Brady outworked Burns for a solid unanimous decision win in the main event this past weekend and now the pride of Philadelphia is back in the title hunt in earnest. Following his win, Brady called for either a top-5 opponent, or a matchup with Ian Machado Garry, saying they share a manager and it should be easy to make happen. I’m not so sure about that.

While Brady is obviously excellent and deserves a shot at a big name, I’m very unconvinced that’s happening. The fight would technically be fighting up for Garry, but the undefeated prospect seems to have his eyes on bigger game and with his name, he can command that. I think Garry is going to get either Usman or Colby Covington, and possibly even Leon Edwards (though a Masvidal matchup makes the most sense there).

On top of that, Brady’s recent loss to now-champion Belal Muhammad still takes some of the shine off fighting him, and most of the guys above him don’t seem likely to accept a fight. The one exception to this is Jack Della Maddalena who also recently defeated Burns, though by the skin of his teeth, so that is a fight that may be possible, and if I had to guess, it’s the one I’d bet happens.

But if the Brady vs. Garry fight does come to pass, of course I’d be interested. We’re talking about two supremely talented fighters. I’m not sure Garry wins a title, but I’m absolutely certain he challenges for one in his career. He’s young and talented and getting better every time out. Brady is a tier below, but with the right breaks he could get a title shot, and at welterweight anyone can have a good night and become champion. Heck, the current champion and the guy he beat were, at one point, entirely dismissed by the fan base. Maybe Brady is the next in line to pick up that mantle? I have my doubts, but I’ve been wrong plenty of times before.

And for the sake of being thorough, I favor Garry in the matchup. Brady gets a little better every time out but his striking still leaves a lot to be desired. Garry has a huge advantage on the feet and is capable enough to not let Brady run away with things via his grappling.

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UFC 306

“What if UFC 306/Noche UFC isn’t ‘the greatest event in human history’ and/or it isn’t ‘the most worst event in the UNIVERSE’ and it’s just a mid event?”

As we round the corner and head into the home stretch for Noche UFC, there is a fair amount of optimism surrounding how great the event is going to be. But here’s the thing, if you promise “the greatest live sporting event of all-time,” you’d better freaking deliver. Will it? I have no idea, and apparently neither does Dana White.

My best guess is that this Saturday’s event will actually disappoint the vast majority of fans. From talking to people who have been at Sphere for various shows, it is undeniably cool, and so the lucky few who could pony up thousands of dollars to attend UFC 306, I suspect they will have a great time. But for the millions watching at home on ESPN+? I don’t really see how that live experience will translate through a television screen.

And if so? It won’t matter. The UFC is too big to fail at this point. If UFC 306 under delivers on its broadcast experience, fans won’t care, especially if the fights are good. You’re getting two title fights and one of the biggest stars in the sport defending a belt. It’s a rock solid card and so it’ll all blow over quickly.

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Thanks for reading, and thank you for everyone who sent in tweets (Xs?)! Do you have any burning questions about things at least somewhat related to combat sports? Then you’re in luck, because you can send your tweets to me, @JedKMeshew, and I will answer my favorite ones! Doesn’t matter if they’re topical or insane, just so long as they are good. Thanks again, and see y’all next week.