Floyd Mayweather Jr. was at his most Mayweather on Saturday, announcing to a crowd in England that he planned to come out of retirement to fight the UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor in June. More
Demetrious Johnson refused to play Georges St. Pierre to Tim Elliott’s Matt Serra.
“Mighty Mouse” stayed calm in the face of early adversity to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight crown with a unanimous decision over Elliott in “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale main event on Saturday at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Johnson was awarded 49-46, 49-46 and 49-45 marks from the judges, as he made his ninth consecutive successful title defense — one shy of former middleweight boss Anderson Silva’s all-time UFC record.
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Elliott did all he could to unseat the incumbent champion. He caught Johnson in a tight guillotine in the first round and transitioned to a brabo choke, squeezing until his arms could squeeze no more. The AMC Pankration ace extricated himself, worked back to his feet and restored order. Johnson spent much of the next 20 minutes assuming top position — either through takedowns or scrambles — and compromising the Elliott guard with a series of passes.
Johnson has now sat atop the flyweight division for 1,534 days and has not lost a fight since his unanimous decision defeat to reigning bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on Oct. 1, 2011.
In wake of “The Ultimate Fighter 24” Finale, here are five matches that ought to be made:
Demetrious Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez: While a rematch with the aforementioned Cruz remains a part of any future…