Demetrious Johnson is the longest-reigning UFC flyweight champion in history and one of the most successful champions -- period -- ever in mixed martial arts. "Mighty Mouse" is no longer in the UFC. He's about to fight for the One Championship flyweight title in February.
But the MMA legend still keeps an eye on the division he once lorded over. And Johnson has been impressed with new champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
"I think as long as he stays healthy, makes weight every single time and [has] no injuries, I think he'll be the champion for a long time," Johnson told ESPN's Ariel Helwani this week.
Figueiredo will attempt to make a second title defense in less than a month Saturday night against Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC 256 in Las Vegas. Figueiredo stopped Joseph Benavidez in the first round to win the title on July 19. He defended the belt with a submission victory over Alex Perez in the first round at UFC 255 on Nov. 21.
Johnson regards Moreno highly. But he believes the Mexican challenger could have his hands full with Figueiredo, the 32-year-old from Brazil who is on an absolute tear, winning five straight fights, the last four via finish.
"I think the biggest thing Figueiredo has going for him is he's big, he's long, he's well-rounded," Johnson said. "And he hits hard. ... He felt Alex Perez's power, he was like, 'It's nothing, I'm gonna go for it.' That's when he started. Same thing with when he fought Joseph Benavidez the first time and he dropped Joseph. I was like, that's a bad matchup for Joseph. And when they fought the second time, I thought it was going to be worse. He's like, 'Joseph can't hurt me.' And when you can't hurt somebody and you can't outgrapple them or outathleticism them, it's gonna be a bad fight for you."
Who finishes 2020 as flyweight champion? We asked several top coaches and fighters for their thoughts on the main event at UFC 256.
Editor's note: Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Ryan Benoit, UFC flyweight, lost a split decision to Moreno in 2016
I think Brandon Moreno has a little bit of momentum right now. I'm excited to see him fight. I fought him a few years ago, and he's changed a lot. He looks really sharp. Brandon has got great distancing and great pressure. Figueiredo, he's a machine. I think it's going to be a good clash of the two styles.
Brandon has all the right skills, all the tools to win this fight. I like the way he starts off each round. He's very sharp on his feet, he's very balanced. He shows very heavy shots, clean and crisp shots. Then, midway through the round, he starts getting a bit sloppy. Toward the end of the round, I think he starts realizing, 'Oh, s---, I'm getting tagged up a little bit,' and starts picking it back up. He starts upping the pace at the end of the round to make sure the opponent doesn't steal the round away from him. If he gets sloppy against Figueiredo in the middle of the round, Figueiredo is gonna snatch him right up.
I have been saying that Figueiredo just hasn't been exposed yet. But he's 20-1 at this point and has almost cleaned up the whole division. I was like this with Tony Ferguson for a while. I was like, 'Tony is tough, but there's way tougher dudes in the division.' Then he faces these guys and he has good success against them. I've had the same thing with Figueiredo, and [it] keeps coming back on me, because he keeps doing well. To be honest with you, he just has gotten solid matchups, but he hasn't faced anyone who has something super significant over him in any one area -- like a high-level Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt or anything like that. I'm not knocking any of the guys he's gone against. He took out Joseph Benavidez both times and Benavidez has been in the top five the whole time.
Figueiredo has a lot of power. He throws two or three [punches] at a time and they're all heavy shots. He likes to draw his opponent in. He comes forward fast and explosive and he draws opponents in. Figueiredo sees them react and then he jumps on it. I think he's gonna try to get Brandon to come forward. I'm really rooting for Brandon Moreno, but I feel like Figueiredo might have the edge in this one.
Duke Roufus, Roufusport head coach
I know Moreno real well. My fighter Sergio Pettis fought him. He's a tough dude, up and coming. He's good. But Figueiredo, he's a pocket rocket, man. He's the hardest-hitting guy at 125. He can throw some heat. Last fight, he showed very great MMA grappling as well.
I think what Brandon has going for him is this is a title [fight]. He's an emotional fighter. I think he's going to come in here and give Figueiredo the toughest fight he's had in a while. Also with the quick turnarounds, who's going to get up for a fight again? Sometimes when you fight so often, it's hard to get [motivated] for every fight. The guy who gets up for this one should have the best chance to win.
My heart wants Brandon Moreno. I like the kid, I'm a fan of his. But my mind, my wits say the champion does it and he stops him.
Beneil Dariush, UFC lightweight
This one is tricky. It's not going to finish in the first round like everyone is predicting for Figueiredo. I think it's going to at least go three rounds, if not five. I think Figueiredo is going to be strong early and Moreno is going to be stronger late. It's hard to give a prediction, but I'm going to go with Moreno.
Moreno is very composed for a guy his age, and that's why I think he can take the fight late and finish it there. He has experience going five rounds, he did it with Sergio Pettis [in August 2017] and he also actually fought four rounds and finished one of my teammates in LFA, Maikel Perez. Maikel Perez is one of the best guys I've ever trained with, so, just being able to beat Maikel, Moreno got a lot of respect from me.
Sayif Saud, Fortis MMA head coach
Figueiredo has that air of greatness right now -- there's no doubt about it. I'm not saying he's one of the greats yet, but he definitely is starting to develop that confidence, because nobody stops people like that at that weight class. Even Demetrious went to decisions or finished [fighters] in the fourth or fifth round. Nobody had that power. Figueiredo has that power. The guy is a finisher.
What I'll say about Moreno is a guy who is tough as f---, he got kicked out of the UFC, had to go make a run in LFA and won the belt. Then he came back to the UFC and turned it up to a whole other level against Kai Kara-France. He dominated that fight in the second and third round. He's a guy that has a lot of self-belief right now. Moreno has a great chin and he can scrap. He obviously showed a great ground game against Brandon Royval, who is [very good] on the ground. That fight really impressed me, because of the ground control.
I think Moreno has a shot. But Figueiredo, like I said, with that air of confidence it's something that needs to be examined. He's approaching that. He's not there yet, he hasn't done enough. But you could see it on him. I think Figueiredo's second [weight] cut in two months could affect him. But he was also first to the scales for the Alex Perez fight. Let's not forget that. I think Figueiredo will win, because of the confidence.
James Krause, UFC welterweight/Glory MMA head coach
It's tough to bet against Figueiredo right now because he's such a freaking hammer, but I'm managed by the same group as Moreno and this may not mean anything, but it might: The buzz within that group [is] Moreno's just got that aura about him. Like he knows something we don't. He's just got that factor. And if you've been around the game long enough you know this happens, sometimes the betting odds, the matchup, the training camp, none of that stuff matters. Sometimes, it's just a guy's night. From what I'm understanding, this might be it for Moreno.
But let's take all that out. What I see is a five-round fight. A big puncher in Figueiredo, with a nasty guillotine. But I see Moreno hanging around. He's durable. He can take a good punch and his jiu-jitsu is incredible. I know a lot of people are counting him out, but I think stylistically he matches up really well with Figueiredo. I think if Moreno can get to the championship rounds, he'll have a good shot at outlasting him.
Eddie Cha, Fight Ready striking coach
I'm definitely rooting for Brandon Moreno, because I have ties to his team. But it's just a tough task. I've gotta pick Figueiredo. I haven't seen anybody take him into deep waters, really. I think that's going to be the key to beating this kid. It looked like Alex Perez was beating him at one point, but he still found a way to win. I talked to Perez's coach, Colin Oyama, and he said they worked on that guillotine. A lot of times, you know what's coming and the hard part is just stopping things.
I think Brandon's style, he's willing to swing them in there a little bit. That's the worst thing you can do with Figueiredo. Against a guy like that, you have to almost fight a perfect fight, five minutes at a time. You have to take him into deep waters and try to get him tired with the weight that he cuts. But Figueiredo is good on the ground, too. I think Brandon is going to strike with him too much and probably get finished. My heart is with Brandon. I hope I'm wrong with this pick.
Eric Nicksick, Xtreme Couture MMA coach
Figueiredo is on a tear. He's coming into his own and figuring out the weight-cut dynamic, how his power carries over after the weight cut. I feel like if he doesn't respect your power, he'll just walk right through it and trade one [punch] for his. I think that's where Moreno might find a problem. If he's just peppering Figueiredo with jabs, Figueiredo is gonna eat those jabs and throw that right hand.
I feel like Figueiredo will find Moreno in the third or fourth round. For Moreno, you look at a guy who is very good at scrambles, he likes that high-energy lightweight pace. I think Moreno is very durable. He needs to take Figueiredo into deep waters and maybe steal some rounds late. He has great back control. I don't see there being a big issue as far as Figueiredo's ground game, though. But Jussier Formiga held him down. Moreno is more of a scrambly style. He needs to hold Figueiredo down and create damage.
To be quite fair, I think that's Moreno's only opportunity in this fight -- clip him and get his back in transition and lock in a choke. I'm gonna say Figueiredo round three by TKO.
Tyson Chartier, New England Cartel coach
I've gotta go with Figueiredo. He's just too violent as a 125er and he capitalizes on any mistakes you make. I think Moreno is a scrappy guy, creates scrambles. That funky style wrestling with flow. He'll give up position to create a scramble, yet still he ends up on top. You can't do that with Figueiredo. You get in a bad spot with him, he finishes the fight. Until someone shows me they can deal with Figueiredo, I can't pick against him.
Figueiredo has that "it" factor. You want to watch, because you want to see what he can do and you're just impressed by it. It's kind of like when Hector Lombard was in Bellator. Same vibe. What's he going to do? It's like, this guy is unstoppable. Obviously, everyone is stoppable. But he just had that feel to him, like what's he gonna do next? I like watching Figueiredo fight. He's what the 125-pound division needs. He just runs through people. He doesn't just go to decisions.
I wouldn't be surprised if this one goes into the second or third rounds, because Moreno is scrappy and loose. But I do think Figueiredo can finish Moreno.
Additional reporting by ESPN's Brett Okamoto and Ariel Helwani.