Reigning UFC Flyweight Champion Alexandre Pantoja continues to cement his legacy, successfully defending his title at UFC 310 with a second-round technical submission victory over Kai Asakura. However, rather than basking in his latest triumph, Pantoja used his moment in the spotlight to call out a legend—former longtime flyweight king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson.
“I’m the GOAT here. If you want to prove you’re the GOAT, come back,” Pantoja declared after his win.
Johnson, who retired from professional MMA in September 2024, was quick to shut down the possibility of a comeback.
However, he acknowledged Pantoja’s accomplishments and recognized the Brazilian as the best flyweight in the sport today.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Johnson had nothing but praise for Pantoja’s recent dominance. “Oh absolutely, 100 percent,” Johnson said about ranking Pantoja at No. 1. “Him and Kyoji Horiguchi [at the top]. Kyoji Horiguchi hasn’t been fighting the top quality opponents that Alexandre Pantoja has fought.
“Alexandre Pantoja just beat Kai Asakura. Kai Asakura has a win over Kyoji Horiguchi. Kyoji Horiguchi has a win over Kai Asakura and then when you look at what Pantoja [has done]. He beat Brandon Moreno. Pantoja’s beating everybody right now. I would put Alexandre Pantoja at the very top.”
“While Johnson has no intention of stepping back into the Octagon, he understands why Pantoja chose to call him out.
“I think that it’s a great callout because that probably got more buzz than him beating Kai Asakura. Because not everybody knew who Kai Asakura was. That’s just my viewpoint of the fan interactions, social media hits. We took that social clip and we clipped it and it made us like $1,000 to be honest with you. Just from the metrics alone when we look at things, that’s kind of what I do now and that’s what we viewed it as.”
While Pantoja awaits his next challenger, likely either Kai Kara-France or Manel Kape, Johnson reflected on the evolution of the flyweight division. He also weighed in on the landscape outside of the UFC, particularly in ONE Championship, where he last competed.
One of Johnson’s former opponents, Adriano Moraes, is set to fight for the vacant flyweight title at ONE 172 against Yuya Wakamatsu. However, Johnson doesn’t see Moraes as a direct comparison to Pantoja due to weight class differences.
“ONE Championship’s flyweights fight closer to 135 pounds,” Johnson explained. “Cutting an extra 10 pounds to perform at a high level matters. That’s why I wouldn’t compare Adriano to the UFC flyweights. I’d put him more in the bantamweight category.”
“When you look at the guys, we’ve seen Adriano perform at 135,” Johnson explained. “When you look at what Alexandre Pantoja’s been able to do, even for myself when I was fighting in ONE Championship, I put myself in the bantamweight category. Because when you have to cut an extra 10 pounds to perform at a high level, that shit matters. A lot of people don’t realize it does — it does. I wouldn’t put Adriano in that flyweight division hat’s at 125 in the UFC. Because he’s not cutting those extra 10 pounds. He’s fighting hydrated. He’s fighting fully nourished whereas Pantoja’s cutting an extra 10 pounds. I would put Adriano in the boat as if he’s fighting the bantamweights. That’s how I look at the scheme of things.
“When I was at ONE Championship and I was at 135, I compared myself at the time fighting a guy like Aljamain Sterling because Aljamain Sterling is 135.”
Regardless of weight classes, Johnson walked away from his trilogy against Moraes with a newfound respect for the Brazilian because those matchups forced him to learn, adapt and grow into a better fighter.
“He’s really good,” Johnson said about Moraes. “Very big and long for the weight class. It’s definitely a huge transition for me coming over from the UFC fighting guys who are 5-foot-3, 5-foot-4 — if you look at my generation of me, Joseph [Benavidez], Ian McCall, John Dodson, Chris Cariaso, Kyoji Horiguchi — we were all smaller guys.
“When you go fight a guy like Tim Elliott, I’ve always had hard times with guys that are longer. Dominick Cruz [is another one]. Then you have Adriano, who’s f*cking 6-foot-2 and 135, it’s hard to make adjustments and I felt like when I fought him the first time, it was hard to gauge that distance and mess with that void. The second fight, I was like I got it. Then in the third fight, it was a great fight because we knew each other so well that I ended up beating him up in the clinch.”
Despite retiring, Johnson continues to follow the sport and respects the fighters carrying on his legacy. But at 38-year-old, he has no desire to return.
“Being at the water park with my daughter, not worrying about my next fight—this right here is priceless,” Johnson said. “There’s no belt out there that can give me the satisfaction I have now.”
With Johnson firmly retired, the flyweight division now belongs to Pantoja, who looks to continue building his own legendary status. Whether his next opponent is Kara-France, Kape, or someone else, one thing is clear—Pantoja is the man to beat at 125 pounds.
