"I remember his jaw shifting" - Demetrious Johnson reveals from experience how it's like to fight an opponent who is on steroids

Demetrious Johnson recently recalled his experience fighting Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174, who later tested positive for EPO. Johnson dominated the five-round fight, securing a unanimous decision victory in Vancouver. However, he later learned that his opponent had been using performance-enhancing drugs.

In a recent discussion on his channel, the Former UFC flyweight champion detailed the moment he realized something felt off during the fight:

"In the fight, I was kneeling on him, and I remember his jaw shifting, and I was like, ‘You know what? I'm not going to knock you out. Something’s not right here, and I get done.’ I go in the back, and I take my piss test, and my father-in-law was there. He goes, ‘Son, I want to tell you something: no man takes a beating like you just did to him and walks away from it."

Despite delivering heavy damage, Johnson was surprised at Bagautinov’s ability to absorb punishment without showing signs of fatigue.

Months later, Johnson was informed by journalist Ariel Helwani that Bagautinov had failed a drug test. Reflecting on the fight, he noted that his team had expected Bagautinov to slow down in the later rounds, but the fighter’s endurance never wavered:

"We're going to beat him up tenderize him and then later in the fight he should be tired and the knockout or the submission should come but he never got tired… he could withstand all that beating I did on him and [coach Matt Hume] was like he should have got tired and you should have been able to finish him but he didn't because of this.”

Check out Demetrious Johnson discuss fighting opponent in steroids below (35:21):

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Nicky Rodriguez praises Demetrious Johnson’s grappling brilliance

Demetrious Johnson continues to earn praise for his exceptional grappling skills. Elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner Nicky Rodriguez recently hailed Johnson’s legendary flying-suplex armbar submission against Ray Borg at UFC 216 as the greatest in MMA history.

Rodriguez, a top grappler training at B-Team Jiu Jitsu in Texas, trained with Johnson and was impressed by his technical mastery:

"One of the greatest fighters ever. In his weight class, definitely the greatest ever. With the greatest highlight. We're talking suplex straight to flying armbar. I don't think there will ever be a better submission in mixed martial arts."

Catch Nicky Rodriguez discuss Demetrious Johnson below (0:15):