UFC's Johnson Tops Crawford, GGG, Ward for 'Best Fighter' ESPY

By Keith Idec

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson won the ESPY for “Best Fighter” on Wednesday night at ESPN’s annual awards show in Los Angeles.

Johnson beat out UFC superstar Conor McGregor and boxers Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and Andre Ward to win the award, which recognizes the achievements of boxers and mixed martial artists. The winner was announced as part of the 25th annual ESPY Awards, which aired on ABC from the Microsoft Theater.

The 30-year-old Johnson (26-2-1), of Parkland, Washington, has made a UFC record-tying 10 straight title defenses in the MMA’s 125-pound division. He most recently made Brazil’s Wilson Reis submit in the third round of their April 15 fight in Kansas City, Missouri.

Since the 2016 ESPY Awards aired last July 13, Crawford, Golovkin and Ward each has been among the most successful fighters in boxing.

The 29-year-old Crawford (31-0, 22 KOs), the WBC/WBO super lightweight champion, out-boxed Ukraine’s Viktor Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) to win their 140-pound title unification fight by unanimous decision last July 23 in Las Vegas. He then stopped John Molina Jr. (29-7, 23 KOs), of Covina, California, in the eighth round December 10 in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and stopped the Dominican Republic’s Felix Diaz (19-2, 9 KOs) following nine one-sided rounds May 20 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The 35-year-old Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion, defeated England’s Kell Brook (36-2, 25 KOs) by fifth-round technical knockout September 10 in London and out-pointed Brooklyn’s Daniel Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs) in their 12-rounder March 18 at Madison Square Garden.

The 33-year-old Ward (32-0, 16 KOs), of Hayward, California, easily won against Colombia’s Alexander Brand (25-2, 19 KOs) in their 12-round fight August 6, before beating former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev in back-to-back bouts. Ward narrowly won their first fight by unanimous decision November 19 in Las Vegas and returned there to stop Russia’s Kovalev (30-2-1, 26 KOs) in the eighth round of their rematch June 17.

Ward attended the show Wednesday night. Crawford and Kazakhstan’s Golovkin couldn’t attend because they’re in training camp for their respective fights against Namibia’s Julius Indongo (22-0, 11 KOs) on August 19 in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) on September 16 in Las Vegas.

An MMA fighter has now won the award three years in a row. Ireland’s McGregor won it last year and Ronda Rousey took it home in 2015.

Boxers had won the award in each of the first eight years it was presented, beginning in 2007.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) won it in 2007, 2008, 2010 and from 2012-14. Manny Pacquiao won it in 2009 and 2011.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.