Demetrious Johnson lauds Alexandre Pantoja, says flyweight king deserves to be ranked higher in UFC P4P rankings

Demetrious Johnson recently lavished praise on Alexandre Pantoja following his latest win and noted that Pantoja deserves to be ranked higher in the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings.

Pantoja most recently earned a submission win over Kai Kara-France to successfully retain his flyweight championship in the co-main event of UFC 317. With the win, 'The Cannibal' picked up his fourth consecutive successful flyweight title defense and set a new record for most wins, finishes, and submission wins in the UFC's flyweight division.

In his UFC 317 recap video on his YouTube channel, Johnson weighed in on the current updated UFC pound-for-pound rankings and shared his thoughts on some of the competitors being ranked higher than Pantoja. 'Mighty Mouse' mentioned that the promotion needs to recognize 'The Cannibal' by moving him much higher, especially considering he is tied with Alex Pereira at No.9:

"Pantoja is at number-nine. He has one of the most active win streaks in title fights. That's his fourth consecutive title defense and he's tied with Alex Pereira... [Pantoja] needs to be ranked higher on the pound-for-pound list because the gentleman has a finish in every single aspect of mixed martial arts. He's gotten a decision, he's submitted and he's also knocked people out, where [Pereira] has never submitted anybody, he tends to only knock people out and he's not even a champion."

Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments below (13:57):

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How many flyweight title defenses does Alexandre Pantoja need to surpass Demetrious Johnson?

Alexandre Pantoja took sole possession of three impressive records with his win over Kai Kara-France last Saturday. However, there is still a long way to go if he wants to surpass Demetrious Johnson's UFC flyweight title defense record.

Pantoja's submission win was his fourth consecutive successful title defense, which keeps him at second on the all-time list. Johnson currently sits atop the list with 11, after losing his flyweight championship to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227.

'The Cannibal' would need to remain an active champion and successfully retain his flyweight championship another 8 times if he wants to surpass Johnson.

Check out a clip of Demetrious Johnson's final successful UFC flyweight title defense below: