Demetrious Johnson Provides Update on UFC 227 Injuries

Demetrious Johnson spoke Monday in his first interview since losing the flyweight championship to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. And while the update could be direr, unfortunately, it seems the former champion may be sidelined for some time:

“There’s no broken bones but there’s still a little swelling,” Johnson told Ariel Helwani Monday. “I got the MRI results. I have a high-grade partial tear in my LCL. Right now, I’m suffering from pain in my lower calf area … I can’t even sleep at night. I’m waking up, just sweating in bed. I saw the UFC Performance Institute doctor, the physiotherapist, and I have a possible tear in my Achilles into my calf… that’s not for certain. I need to see how high the grade is for the tears.”

At the moment, Johnson does not have plans to undergo surgery, but that could change once the grade of the tear has been confirmed by the MRI reports

“I don’t think I should (need surgery), but it all depends on the severity of the tear,” Johnson said. “Because when I get MRIs, it says hybrid partial tear on the LCL. So is that grade one, grade two or grade three? Typically, grade three, you need surgery, grade two is six weeks off and rehab. It’s feeling like a grade two because I’ve had a tear in my left LCL before. In the fight, when it happened, I felt the pop go and the first thing that went through my head was, ‘Oh that’s fantastic, there goes the right LCL.’”

It is widely assumed that when Johnson is cleared to return, he will be a lock to receive a rematch against Henry Cejudo for the flyweight championship or a shot at whoever the champion at the time may be.