![Ilia Topuria (left) claims he was never the biggest fan of Demetrious Johnson (right) in his prime [Images courtesy: Getty Images]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/8a7da-17448578952741-1920.jpg)
![Ilia Topuria (left) claims he was never the biggest fan of Demetrious Johnson (right) in his prime [Images courtesy: Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.25'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria recently shared his thoughts on Demetrious Johnson. Making his first appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, the Georgian-Spanish fighter claimed he was not a fan of 'Mighty Mouse' in his prime.
Johnson is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Before he departed from the UFC, the former champion defended his flyweight belt 11 times in the promotion. He then debuted in ONE Championship in 2019 and claimed the ONE flyweight world title after beating Adriano Moraes in 2022.
As Rogan gushed on Johnson's legacy and skill set, Topuria responded:
"I don't know. I never was a big fan of him. Never. First of all, when you call yourself a Mickey Mouse or Mighty Mouse, I always thought that he was a Mickey Mouse. Bro, why the f*** you're calling yourself a Mickey Mouse. He was a good fighter. He was a very technical fighter. He dominated the whole division. How many times did he defend his belt? Like 14 times?"
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Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below (via Championship Rounds' post on X):
The post caught the attention of Johnson, who then responded to Topuria, writing:
"All Gucci boiiss."
Check out Demetrious Johnson's response below:
Ilia Topuria opens up about his move to lightweight
Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria has addressed his move to the 155-pound division. After dethroning Alexander Volkanovski and successfully defending his title against Max Holloway, the Georgian-Spanish fighter decided to vacate his belt in pursuit of the lightweight gold.
'La Leyenda' is looking to fight the current champion, Islam Makhachev, for the belt. However, the Dagestani wants Topuria to beat a tough contender within the top five before facing him. In his latest appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, he had this to say about his transition to 155 pounds:
"You are gonna see me at 155 that I'm gonna touch someone and I'm gonna take his lights out. I don't need to touch his chin. Just touch his head and it will explode. I feel so powerful at that weight class, so stable in the ground. Do you wanna wrestle? Let's wrestle. No problem. I have the gas tank for five days, not five rounds."
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below:
