Joshua Van on Demetrious Johnson: ‘I didn’t know he was in the UFC’

UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van‘s introduction to Demetrious Johnson came very late.

Van, 24, admits he hadn’t heard of Johnson, who defended his UFC flyweight title a record 11 times between 2013 and 2017, until after he became a ONE Championship fighter in 2019. When Johnson competed in his final year with the UFC, Van was 16 years old.

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Johnson (27-3-1 MMA, 15-2-1 UFC) is widely regarded as the greatest 125-pound fighter of all time and a fighter that many others have looked up to. However, prior to capturing the UFC flyweight title, Van said he only started watching UFC fights after 2017, which is why he considers Alexandre Pantoja the flyweight GOAT.

“I swear to God I didn’t know he was in the UFC,” Van said of Johnson on the JAXXON Podcast. “I saw him fight in ONE Championship, and I remember his highlight was everywhere when he knocked out (Adriano Moraes) with the flying knee. I guess it was like his revenge or something because the guy knocked him out. That video, I see a lot. Now I know him, but I’ve never watched his fights.”

Van captured the UFC flyweight title in unceremonious fashion when he dethroned Pantoja by TKO due to injury at UFC 323 in December. He is set for his first title defense against Tatsuro Taira (18-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at UFC 327 on April 11 from Kaseya Center in Miami.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Joshua Van stunningly didn’t know Demetrious Johnson was UFC fighter