Conor McGregor explains why Demetrious Johnson failed to make his MMA GOAT list

When Conor McGregor shared his current MMA GOAT rankings many fans and pundits questioned why the name Demetrious Johnson was not on the list.

McGregor had ranked former UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva in the top spot for current MMA GOAT, this while listing himself as a very close second.

The Irishman then pegged Octagon legends Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones for the third and fourth positions respectively.

Although Conor McGregor picked some relatively obvious choices in ‘The Spider’, ‘GSP’ and ‘Bones’, names such as undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and longtime flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson were nowhere to be found.

When one fan commented that his MMA GOAT list made no sense without the inclusion of ‘DJ’, McGregor shared the following explanation for not including ‘Mighty Mouse’ in his rankings.

Love Mighty Mouse. Always give him credit. One of the most skilled! But in a limited competition division, he eventually left the top tier organisation after losing a match that was then 1-1. Plus he lost his up weight world title attempt against Dominic Cruz.

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 23, 2020

“Love Mighty Mouse. Always give him credit. One of the most skilled! But in a limited competition division, he eventually left the top tier organization after losing a match that was then 1-1. Plus he lost his up weight world title attempt against Dominic Cruz.”

As noted by Conor McGregor, Demetrious Johnson suffered a unanimous decision loss to Dominick Cruz in his bid for the promotions bantamweight title at UFC on Versus 6 in October of 2011.

However, after claiming the UFC flyweight title with a win over Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152, ‘Mighty Mouse’ would go on to defend the belt eleven times before suffering a hotly debated split decision loss to Henry Cejudo.

Demetrious Johnson (30-3-1 MMA) would later take his talents to ONE Championship, where he won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. He’ll soon battle Adriano Moraes for the flyweight title.

As for Conor McGregor, the former two-division UFC champion received a ton of scrutiny for his MMA GOAT list. Fighters like Jon Jones, Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov were quick to bash the Irishman over his rankings.

In regards to his next Octagon appearance, McGregor is rumored to be in talks for a potential welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman which would take place this July.

What names do you think should be on the current Top Five list for MMA GOAT? Share your thoughts in the comments section PENN Nation!

on May 24, 2020