Johnson makes his case as UFC’s pound-for-pound king

UFC president Dana White said he couldn’t disagree.

At least some portion of the fans in attendance at UFC 191 expressed a different opinion as Johnson’s technically brilliant unanimous decision victory over John Dodson was booed on several occasions.

White derided the sentiment.

“There’s a bunch of drunk dummies out there,” he said. “It was the last five rounds of the night and these guys have been here drinking since 5:30. I don’t know what they expect, but he looked unbelievable tonight.

“Anybody that knows anything about the sport, Dodson was the guy to fight and Demetrious Johnson dominated him tonight.”

As he does nearly every time he steps in the cage. Johnson moved into a tie for fourth on the UFC all-time list with a seventh consecutive successful title defense.

The first time he fought Dodson in 2013, Johnson ran into early trouble before settling in and taking control. There were no such issues Saturday. Johnson never allowed the explosive Dodson to launch any sort of attack, keeping him guessing and off balance for most of the 25 minutes.

Dodson has been a vocal critic of Johnson, claiming his cautious style has been a detriment to growing the popularity of the 125-pound division.

He was full of praise after falling short against Johnson for a second time, though.

“He was more intelligent this time. I was trying to defend more takedowns and he was just pushing the pace. DJ did a wonderful job. He came at me and my hat’s off to him,” Dodson said. “I can’t sit here and badmouth him because he’s still the champion. I couldn’t stop him.

“He landed a lot of shots on my face. I look like a monster.”

Dodson and Joseph Benavidez, the clear-cut top contenders in the division, now both have lost twice to Johnson.

There has been speculation Johnson will have to move up to bantamweight at some point to find a suitable challenge. That time has not yet come, according to White.

“There’s always a contender,” he said. “We are working on something right now and when it happens, you’ll agree.”

Johnson indicated he didn’t care who is put in front of him. Only featherweight champion Jose Aldo still holds the belt among the fighters who were champions when Johnson’s title reign began in September 2012.

He doesn’t plan on relinquishing the belt anytime soon. Johnson and his coaches prepare for every fight just the same. Earning a share of the UFC bonus money typically allotted for exciting contests is nowhere in the plans.

Neither is getting all worked up about his opponent. Despite Dodson’s trash-talking, Johnson insists he was able to shut it out of his mind and approach it like every other bout.

“That fight’s behind me. Now it’s on to the next one,” he said. “That’s how I look at all my fights. When I go for my eighth title defense, just another fight. If I beat that guy, next one, nine, 10, 11, 12, 500. Just another fight.”

While neither Johnson nor White gave any indication of who the next challenger may be, one possibility is certainly Henry Cejudo. The 2008 Olympic wrestling gold medalist is 9-0 as a professional in mixed martial arts, including 3-0 in the UFC. Should he get past Jussier Formiga in November, he is a logical candidate to take on Johnson early in 2016.

Dodson believes he’ll get another shot down the road as well.

“I can come back stronger. Everybody keeps talking about this glass ceiling (for me in the division), but I’m going to break through it,” Dodson said. “I’m going to make sure I come back stronger. If I get the opportunity to beat up (a bunch of other contenders), I will do it and I’ll make sure I can make another run at this title.”

For now, he’ll return home to Albuquerque, N.M., to spend time with his newborn daughter Delilah. Dodson left Las Vegas last Monday night to attend the birth early Tuesday. He said the interruption in his fight-week routine had nothing to do with the outcome of the fight.

“I can’t blame anything that went on this whole week as a distraction or anything like that. I came out here and performed my best and did what I needed to do,” he said. “I’m excited that I got to see and hold my baby for the first time. It was awesome. I had a tremendous week. Even tonight was an amazing night in my opinion.

“It might not have gone my way, but it was still exciting.”

Not everyone would use the same adjective to describe Johnson’s fighting style, which is just fine with the champion. He’ll settle for winning.

— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him: @adamhilllvrj