Demetrious Johnson at this point can only build on a legacy he secured long ago.
In advance of Johnson’s long-awaited return, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied the Matt Hume protégé to this point:
36: Years of age for Johnson, who was born on Aug. 13, 1986 in Madisonville, Kentucky—a city of some 20,000 people situated roughly 220 miles southeast of St. Louis. He shares a hometown with Odessa Grady Clay, mother of the great Muhammad Ali.
12: Johnson wins by submission, accounting for 40% of his career total (30). His methods of choice: five armbars, three rear-naked chokes, two guillotine chokes, one keylock and one kimura. Johnson holds five other wins by knockout or technical knockout (17%) and 13 more by decision (43%).
2,142: Days spent by Johnson as undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight titleholder. It ranks as the second-longest single reign in the history of the company behind Anderson Silva’s record-setting 2,457-day run at middleweight.
17: Seconds needed for Johnson to punch out Brandon Fieds in his pro debut at a regional show on April 28, 2007 in Everett, Washington. More than 15 years later, it remains his fastest finish to date.
88: Rounds completed by Johnson as a professional mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on 17 different occasions and carries a 13-3-1 record in those bouts.
225: Combined victories between the 11 opponents—Joseph Benavidez (twice), John Dodson (twice), Ian McCall, John Moraga, Ali Bagautinov, Chris Cariaso, Kyoji Horiguchi, Henry Cejudo, Tim Elliott, Wilson Reis and Ray Borg—Johnson defeated during his career-best 13-fight winning streak between June 8, 2012 and Oct. 7, 2017.
1,059: Significant strikes landed by Johnson as a UFC flyweight, still good for first on the promotion’s all-time list at 125 pounds. Benavidez (824), Elliott (751), Brandon Moreno (692) and Kai Kara France (557) round out the Top 5.
9: Organizations for which Johnson has plied his mixed martial arts trade. He has gone 15-2-1 in the UFC, 4-0 in AX Fighting Championships, 3-1 in One Championship, 2-1 in World Extreme Cagefighting, 2-0 in Alaska Fighting Championship, 1-0 in USA Mixed Martial Arts, 1-0 in Genesis Fight Night, 1-0 in Genesis Fights and 1-0 in King of the Cage.
450,000: Dollars in post-fight bonuses banked by Johnson across his 18 appearances in the UFC. He was awarded “Performance of the Night” on four occasions and “Fight of the Night” three times, along with “Submission of the Night” and “Knockout of the Night” once each.
.794: Cumulative winning percentage between the four opponents—Moraes, Cejudo, Dominick Cruz and Brad Pickett—who have defeated Johnson. They sport a combined record of 85-22.