Demetrious Johnson Comments On Leaving UFC, UFC 230 Countdown Featuring Daniel Cormier
- UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier puts his title on the line this Saturday in the main event of UFC 230 vs. top contender Derrick Lewis. The card takes place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In this edition of "Countdown," go inside the lives and training camps for Cormier, Lewis, Chris Weidman and Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza as they prepare for battle inside the Octagon.
Below is the card for this Saturday:
MAIN CARD (Pay-Per-View/10 p.m. ET)
UFC Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Cormier (c) vs. Derrick Lewis
* Middleweight: Ronald "Jacare" Souza vs. Chris Weidman
* Middleweight: Jared Cannonier vs. David Branch
* Middleweight: Karl Roberson vs. Jack Marshman
* Middleweight: Derek Brunson vs. Israel Adesanya
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)
* Featherweight: Jason Knight vs. Jordan Rinaldi
* Female Flyweight: Sijara Eubanks vs. Roxanne Modafferi
* Featherweight: Julio Arce vs. Sheymon Moraes
* Bantamweight: Lyman Good vs. Ben Saunders
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6 p.m. ET)
* Lightweight: Matt Frevola vs. Lando Vannata
* Featherweight: Shane Burgos vs. Kurt Holobaugh
* Bantamweight: Brian Kelleher vs. Montel Jackson
* Heavyweight: Ruslan Magomedov vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima
- Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now officially a member of ONE Championship, the Asia-based promotion, after agreeing to be dealt in exchange for Ben Askren. "Mighty Mouse" set a record for consecutive title defenses in the UFC before falling to Henry Cejudo earlier this year.
"First of all, I am glad to be a part of ONE Championship," Johnson said during a recent press conference. "I am very honored and grateful to be a ONE athlete. It's a huge move on my part, for my career. I'm looking to come over to Asia and test my skills against the best in the flyweight division. I know those guys are animals.
Johnson, who is 27-3-1 in his career and won 13 consecutive bouts between 2012 and 2018, is familiar with the top fighters in the division of his new home. He is expected to make his debut in 2019.
"I know Geje (Eustaquio) and (Adriano) Moraes are beasts, and I'm looking forward to getting into the cage with them," Johnson said. "At the end of the day, I feel that I am very young in my career and I wanted to try something different. I've always wanted to travel the world and compete. I think ONE is a fantastic organization that represents incredible values — things that I also love to represent about this sport."