Demetrious Johnson Says He Wasn’t Going to Be Denied His Record-Breaking Win at UFC 216

Demetrious Johnson spoke following his at UFC 216 about breaking the record for consecutive title defenses with the bout and more.

On breaking the record: “There was a long time ago in PRIDE: ‘Cro-Cop,’ it was his birthday, and he had that look on his face like nobody was going to take that championship away from him. That’s how I felt (Saturday). I felt like no one was going to take this away from me. The weight cut went easy. All my training sessions went easy. I kind of did whatever I wanted this week. Everything just felt good. When I fight guys who are my size – 5-foot-3, 5-foot-5 – it’s fine. You never know you’re going to win until the referee pulls you off.”

On getting the finish: “It was another day in the office. Every fight is like the last one. It was special to pull that off that finish. I’ve been working on that submission in the gym. I was so tired from doing it, but I’ve practiced it a 1,000 times, and that’s what I got. My coach said, ‘You mastered it in the gym and pulled it off in the octagon.’”

On his plan from here: “I’m going to go home and spend time with my family and soak this one in. My motivation is to get better and to work on everything. Everyone is so quick to jump to the next one. It’s been 25 minutes since the fight. I’m going to spend some time with my family and kids, and enjoy this for a little bit.”