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Dominick Cruz took Demetrious Johnson to Suplex City in forgotten UFC GOAT battle

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated May 4, 2025 9:35 PM ET

Long before they retired as all-time greats, Dominick Cruz and Demetrious Johnson engaged in one of the fastest-paced fights in UFC history.

Demetrious Johnson’s undoubtedly recognized as the greatest flyweight of all time with the record for most UFC title defenses (11).

Standing at 5’3”, ‘Mighty Mouse’ fought much of his earlier career against bigger fighters in the bantamweight division where he boasted a significant speed advantage in both the WEC and UFC.

Johnson got a title shot almost as fast as he moved, earning a crack at then champion Dominick Cruz in his third UFC fight back in 2011.

Like Johnson, Cruz was renowned for his speed and unorthodox footwork, that gave many of his opponents problems—not Johnson though, who matched his pace across five rounds of action.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Demetrious Johnson gave Dominick Cruz a run for his money

Cruz defended his bantamweight title against Johnson in the main event of UFC on Versus 6 on Oct. 1, 2011. It was Cruz’s second UFC title defense after avenging a previous loss to Urijah Faber and marked Johnson’s first world title fight.

Cruz and Johnson started fast right off the gate with the fighters cutting many different angles. Johnson looked like he was a little bit faster than Cruz in the striking department, keeping up with his pace and managed to land multiple times.

“It almost looks like it’s in fast forward with how these bantamweights move,” UFC commentator Mike Goldberg said on the broadcast.

The champion took a more grappling-heavy approach to nullify the speed of ‘Mighty Mouse’ – the path of least resistance.

Cruz, the bigger man, used his size and strength to control Johnson on the ground and up against the cage in the clinch. That didn’t stop Johnson from going for his own takedowns, unable to keep the 5’8″ Cruz grounded for long.

Most people don’t even know that Dominick Cruz beat Demetrious Johnson pic.twitter.com/f1VKVZ6EZ0
— Aqua (@AquaFighting) November 27, 2022

Dominick Cruz nearly submitted Demetrious Johnson after suplex

You know that strength advantage we talked about? Cruz used it in full swing to suplex Johnson for a thudding takedown in round 3.

Cruz flattened Johnson out on the mat and attempted a rear-naked choke with a tight palm-to-palm grip.

Johnson escaped the near-finish by spinning out, having to defend the choke again with Cruz on his back, cranking his neck. Johnson in trouble, the future champion made a narrow escape, rallying up to his feet with immediate pressure on the feet.

Cruz took Johnson down multiple times in the championship rounds, not racking up too much damage on the ground. Cruz suplexed Johnson again in the fifth round, utilizing his judo trips once Johnson returned to his feet.

While he might’ve been rag-dolled at times, a game Demetrious Johnson made it to the distance with Dominick Cruz. The judges scored the fight 50-45, 49-46, 50-45 with ‘The Dominator’ Cruz retaining his title in a fight between future legends.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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