Watching Demetrious Johnson’s movement last Saturday against John Moraga reminded me of another fighter. No, the super-fast footwork and in-and-out movement didn’t remind me of the last person to defeat him. No, the wrestling didn’t remind me of Georges St. Pierre. As a matter of fact, he didn’t remind me of anyone in the UFC or mixed martial arts period. My mind wondered to another sport. This sport also tests your skill level of combat as well, but with your hands only. I started to think of a smaller guy with enough superior speed to have his way with his opponents. This boxer always comes with the proper game plan to take his opponent’s game plans away and make them look two classes below. This fighter is Floyd Mayweather Jr.
A lot of people assume that Mayweather would have never made it in mixed martial arts. I believe they aren’t looking at it objectively and assume his “Philly Shell” defense is horrible for a sport where you can get taken down. The proper way to analyze “Money” Mayweather in mixed martial arts is to look at his dedication to his craft from the age of three-years old to the multiple weight class champion that he is today. Floyd never drinks; trains year-round and has mastered a defensive style that is the hardest to master in boxing. Because of this, I think if he would have studied mixed martial arts from the same age and he would have been almost impossible to take down (watch his footwork in the fights with Carlos Baldomir and Robert Guerrero). He also would have had deceptive takedown skills. All one has to do is look at the false assumption of trapping him on the ropes and what he actually does to his opponents when in close quarters on the ropes. Mayweather is almost as good fighting inside; see Ricky Hatton fight, as he is on the outside. It is only through the assumed, but never proven, idea that trapping him can get you the victory when it isn’t that simple. If Floyd Mayweather were an MMA fighter, he would literally be Demetrious Johnson.
The difference between them are the two losses that “Mighty Mouse” has on his record. Both losses to Brad Pickett and Dominick Cruz were a result of Johnson being in too high of a weight class. This was due to not enough fighters being available to create the flyweight division. As soon as this division was created, Johnson has looked Mayweather-esque in his speed, ability to dictate the fight and pick his opponents apart. I truly do not see anyone taking that belt away from him. Same for Mayweather. He gets flack from crowds on having boring fights and like Mayweather, it is mostly the inability of his opponents to form a game plan to counter his effective style. It is never running when you are punching your opponents and moving in when the time calls for it, and this is in both Johnson and Mayweather’s case.
Outside of John Dodson putting a tad more “umpf” in his punch than Shane Mosley in round two of his Mayweather fight, the belt will stay around Johnson’s waist for years to come. “Uncle Creepy” and Benevitez are excellent fighters, but against Johnson they don’t have the speed to cut him off. The only question left is can “Mighty Mouse” Johnson become Mighty “Money” Johnson with their personalities being polar opposites? We all want the good guy to win in the end, but do our wallets agree with us?
