Demetrious Johnson ready for his shot at historic UFC win

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson doesn’t expect a major celebration should he emerge victorious on what could be a historic Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

The enormity of what he is on the verge of accomplishing may not hit him for a few days if he’s able to break Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive title defenses with a win over Ray Borg on the main card of UFC 216.

“I’ll probably step back, get to my new house, sit down in front of the marble fireplace and have a beer and that’s when I’ll be able to enjoy it and say, ‘Ah, this is what (the record) feels like,” he said.

He expects the rest of the mixed martial arts world to have already moved on by then.

“That’s the thing about this sport,” the 32-year-old said. “It’s right to the next one. I’m sure after I win, the first question will be, ‘Who’s next?’ The media won’t even give you a chance to celebrate your wins in this sport.”

Johnson is just excited to have the chance to compete after he has had his record-breaking opportunity delayed twice. He thought he would fight Borg on a Seattle card in August, but the event never materialized. The fight was finally booked for UFC 215 last month in Canada, but Borg got sick and was forced to pull out of the fight 48 hours before they were scheduled to enter the cage.

As long as both fighters make weight today, an endeavor that is no sure thing for Borg, the fight will go on.

“There’s no point in sitting there and dwelling on (the fight being pushed back) and being frustrated about it when inevitably it’s going to happen again,” he said. “I’m going to get a chance to break this record and that’s what’s in front of me.”

Johnson insists his focus is much more on Borg than going down in the history books with an 11th consecutive title defense.

Borg doesn’t plan to be a footnote in the record books.

“I’m here to rewrite history,” the challenger said. “I want to start stamping my own legacy.”

Johnson’s longtime coach Matt Hume helps keep the focus on the tough challenger while acknowledging the huge pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

“Today, (the record) means nothing,” Hume said. “We have to go win the fight. But as soon as it’s done, it’s going to be the most meaningful thing that ever happened in mixed martial arts.”

Hume said this is a goal the pair set out to accomplish a long time ago.

“This is it. This is what we’ve planned for,” Hume said. “We wanted to break this record. We’ve done everything we wanted to do. He’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on earth. He’s the best fighter in the history of this sport. He’s set a bunch of records and this one will be the pinnacle.”

Johnson’s title reign, which has lasted 1,800 days, began when he beat Joseph Benavidez by split decision to win a four-man tournament and become the inaugural 125-pound champion in September 2012.

His first defense, a win over John Dodson in the main event of a Fox card in Chicago, is still the one that stands out most to Johnson.

“His power is just on a different level,” Johnson recalls. “Being able to go through the adversity of him dropping me and keep pushing forward are the things I look forward to. I want my opponents to bring it. That’s what I’m looking for when I go out there and fight.”

Hume believes his star pupil is the best to ever grace the octagon.

Johnson, however, has still struggled to become a major star at the box office.

The potentially record-breaking fight on Saturday isn’t even the main event, instead serving as the top supporting bout for an interim lightweight title bout between Tony Ferguson and Las Vegan Kevin Lee.

While Hume believes Johnson’s legacy is already secure, he is on the verge of cementing it. Johnson, 31, remains unfazed by the perceived lack of respect.

“I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I think you guys (in the media) worry about more things than I do.”

He’s just concerned with beating Borg.

Then it will be time to think about what’s next.

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Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.