‘Mighty Mouse’ goes for history at UFC 215
THE Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC) goes to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, this weekend with history beckoning as flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson goes for a record 11th straight successful title defense.
To take place at Rogers Place on Sunday ( Manila time), “UFC 215” will see Mr. Johnson ( 26- 2- 1) headlining the event with an eye on breaking the longest title defense streak in the UFC at 10 which he currently holds along with legendary middle weight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
Mr. Johnson will be facing number three- ranked Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg ( 11- 2), who many consider to be toughest that the flyweight champion would be facing for his title.
Also on tap at UFC 215 is the rematch between women’s bantamweight champion Amanda “The Lioness” Nunes of Brazil and challenger Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko (# 1) of Kyrgyzstan.
Since winning the inaugural UFC flyweight title in 2012 over Joseph Benavidez, Mr. Johnson has yet to fail to defend his belt.
His last title successful defense was in April this year over Wilson Reis that saw him winning in the third round by way of submission (armbar).
The win tied him with Mr. Silva, who ruled the middleweight division from 2006 to 2012.
The feat was not lost to 31- year- old Johnson, even prompting him to proclaim, “I’m best champ to ever step in the Octagon!”
Looking to put a stop on the impressive streak of Mr. Johnson and derail his date with history is Mr. Borg, 24, one of the top young prospects in the division.
He is currently riding a two- fight winning streak, with his last victory at the expense of Jussier Formiga last March by unanimous decision.
Mr. Borg has many believing that he has the skills set needed to thwart a solid champion like Mr. Johnson.
Meanwhile, in the other title fight, Ms. Nunes ( 14- 4) tries to make it 2- of- 2 over Ms. Shevchenko (14-2).
The two fighters met in March last year with Ms. Nunes winning by unanimous decision.
The Brazilian thereafter won the UFC women’s bantamweight gold over Miesha Tate by submission in the first round before beating superstar Ronda Rousey by way of a first- round technical knockout (punches).
Ms. Shevchenko, for her part, has won back- to- back as well since losing to Ms. Nunes, defeating former champion Holly Holm and Julianna Peña.
Other fights in UFC 215 are welterweight Neil Magny (#6) against Rafael dos Anjos (#10), light heavyweight Ilir Latifi (#10) versus Tyson Pedro (#13), and featherweight Jeremy Stephens (#8) vs Gilbert Melendez (#14).
UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg will be shown live on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. over Hyper Ch. 91 in SD or 261 in HD on Cignal TV. Replay is at 6 p.m. on the same day.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. —