Demetrious Johnson was left gobsmacked as he watched Alex Pereira completely reverse proceedings in his UFC light-heavyweight title rematch last night.
Widely considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, Johnson has made a career since retirement analyzing fights on his own YouTube channel. He has garnered over 1.55million subscribers, and is arguably a bigger name now than when he was active.
And he was a keen observer as Pereira rematched Magomed Ankalaev at the T-Mobile Arena to headline UFC 313. Johnson was as surprised as the rest of the viewers as he watched the Brazilian barrel through and land a first minute knockdown that led to a stoppage inside round one.
Demetrious Johnson’s amazed reaction to Alex Pereira KO at UFC 320
Demetrious Johnson went live to his fans on YouTube for a reaction stream to the final three fights of the night at UFC 320. Expectations were that after a five round beating from Ankalaev last time around, Alex Pereira would need a quick start and overwhelming pressure to land an early knockout.
The Brazilian delivered just that as he pushed forward from the opening bell and landed a brutal stoppage that stunned the former flyweight champion. “That’s all he had to do first time they fought,” Johnson declared.
He continued to note that it’s important against strong Dagestani grapplers to force the fight. “You see what unravels,” he noted. “When he does it to people they can’t do anything… if you won’t take him down you gonna lose that shot.”
