Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Stephen Curry roped in by Demetrious Johnson in a conversation exploring his comparison with Jon Jones

Demetrious Johnson used Michael Jordan as an example to present his case for a place in the MMA GOAT argument. Johnson was the inaugural and the only champion the flyweight division had for over half a decade. He holds the record for most consecutive title defenses (11) in UFC history.

Despite his achievements, the value of Johnson’s resume has been downplayed because of the perceived lesser quality of opposition compared to champions like Jon Jones. In a recently uploaded video on his YouTube channel, Demetrious Johnson cited the examples of Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry to counter these arguments. He said:

“I just think what I’ve been able to do in mixed martial arts; everybody’s going to have that one discussion like, ‘Oh, well! The competition that you fought isn’t as good as theirs’. That’s like saying Michael Jordan would have been successful if he was playing against guys like Stephen Curry, LeBron James and the list just goes on.”

'Mighty Mouse' then listed his achievements in the UFC, ONE, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu competitions. He argued that even a great fighter like Jon Jones would find it difficult to achieve the degree of success in so many areas of expertise.

Watch Demetrious Johnson rope in Michael Jordan and others from the 6:20 mark of the video below:

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Damian Lillard’s recent statement backs Demetrious Johnson’s claims about Michael Jordan’s greatness

Milwaukee Bucks star Damian Lillard was named in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team for the 2022-2023 NBA season. At the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, he joined several present and past basketball legends.

This was one of the truly magical experiences of Damian Lillard’s life and he spoke about it during his appearance on the Knuckleheads podcast. Lillard was in the presence of some of the greatest players of all time but felt that no one got the attention like Michael Jordan at the event. He explained:

"We walk out of the room where we take the big picture and when we walk out it's like all these cameras – I mean, there's so many stars and all these legends in there and when we get in the hallway, you see MJ walking towards us – he wasn't even there for the big picture. He just got there.”

The respect and the aura around Michael Jordan convinced Lillard that he was indeed the NBA GOAT. Lillard continued:

"He's just walking and it's more cameras on just him by himself than it is on all of us and it was like, that's when you really saw the difference of like, this dude's the GOAT. Like when he was walking, everybody was just staring at him. The top 74 was looking at him."

Watch Damian Dillard share his experience from the 30:37 mark of the video below: