Demetrious Johnson Sidelined With Injury, Eyes Spring Return
UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson will be out of action for a few months as he did, in fact, injure his knee during his fight with Tim Elliott at the Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale (also known as The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale) on December 3, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, the injury doesn’t appear to be as bad as it could have been.
Johnson recently spoke with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting and stated that a recent MRI revealed he has tears in his popliteus muscle, which will not require surgery. Johnson believes that the injury should be healed up in three-to-five weeks.”I am going to let this heal and not rush back in there.”
“I am going to let this heal and not rush back in there.”
When asked when he would like to return to action, Johnson said, “maybe April or may, but if my injury needs more time, I’ll let it heal.” Johnson added that he would like to have his next fight held in Las Vegas, Nevada, which would mark his tenth straight title defense and if he wins that fight, then he would tie Anderson Silva‘s record for most successful title defenses in UFC history.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Johnson explained that he felt the knee injury happen in the first round of the bout, which saw Johnson retain the title by decision.
“Adrenaline takes over,” he said. “I’ve fought with a broken leg, a broken rib, a broken hand…so when it popped I was like, okay, fun fun.”
With Johnson clearing out the division of possible opponents for him, it will be interesting to see who he’ll face in his next fight.
