Despite Impending Fatherhood, Demetrious Johnson Focused on UFC on Fox 8 Headliner

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Demetrious Johnson is a man with a lot on his plate.

In addition to his UFC flyweight title defense at UFC on Fox 8, “Mighty Mouse” today revealed that his wife could give birth to their first child at any moment.

“The ‘Mighty Baby’ should be here any minute. [My wife] could call me right now saying her water just broke in the store, but there’s no added pressure or inspiration,” Johnson said during Tuesday’s media conference call. “I’m happy to be a father, but this is my job and my career, and I approach it from a business aspect. I’m just focused and ready to go in there and defend.”

Johnson will put his title on the line July 27, squaring off with John Moraga live on Fox from Seattle’s KeyArena. The 125-pound standouts were initially supposed to meet this past April at the “TUF 17” finale, but the bout was rescheduled after the champion suffered an injury in training.

“[My] recovery has gone great,” Johnson said. “Once I got cleared by my doctor to start training, I started. If I were to add up all the days, this training camp has probably been like 12 weeks. I’m feeling 100 percent, and I’m ready to get in there and do work.”

In Moraga, Johnson faces a hard-punching flyweight who rides a seven-fight winning streak into his first world title shot. Moraga, who stopped Ulysses Gomez and Chris Cariaso in his first two Octagon appearances, has been critical of Johnson’s elusive fighting style, arguing that the champion does not enter the cage with the intent of finishing his opponent.

“I honestly didn’t care [about Moraga’s comments]. It’s his opinion, and everyone is entitled to his opinion,” Johnson said. “He has a two-fight winning streak [going]. He finished Ulysses Gomez and Chris Cariaso, so I think his UFC run so far is great.”

While Johnson believes that Moraga is a worthy challenger, the champion is also confident that he is well-prepared to defeat the heavy-handed 29-year-old.

“My last fight, I fought one of the guys in the division who has one-strike knockout power, and you’ve seen him do it all the time,” Johnson said of his successful defense against John Dodson. “John Moraga possesses great skills and good combinations, but when it comes to my training, we don’t bring anybody in to emulate [my opponents]. We just train hard, and I believe in my training partners and my coaching. That’s what we’ve done, and it hasn’t let us down yet. I just focus on my overall game and how to be the best mixed martial artist. That way, whomever I fight on July 27, it doesn’t matter. I’ll go out there and perform at my best.”