JNPO Classic: Demetrious Johnson before he was Demetrious Johnson
On another edition of JNPO Classic, we head back to September 29, 2011, for an edition of the WGAM MMA Show, highlighted by an interview with an all-time great before he become an all-time great.
We began by recapping UFC 135 aka High Altitude Strikes which featured Jon Jones’ dominant light heavyweight title defense over Rampage Jackson, Josh Koscheck’s no-doubt KO win over Matt Hughes, and a boring fight between Mark Hunt and Ben Rothwell. We also discussed UFC planning to hold two events in one day.
We then interviewed Demetrious Johnson who was preparing to face then-UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz on the first live UFC title fight on cable TV (Versus). This was classic DJ with short five-second answers and not a lot of depth until he opened up a bit about video games and started making sound effect noises. Yep, he certainly did.
If you’re into MMA history, you’ll like this show.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.