Demetrious Johnson has battled the best fighters from both the East and the West. Widely regarded as the greatest flyweight of all time, he remains the only fighter in history to hold titles in both the UFC and ONE Championship. In 2018, Johnson was traded to the Singapore-based promotion in exchange for Ben Askren, closing out his legendary career on the other side of the world. During his UFC run, he compiled an impressive 15-2-1 record and later went 5-1 in ONE, suffering just a single defeat across six bouts.

With a résumé like that, “Mighty Mouse” knows what greatness looks like. And now he reveals the only UFC fighter who, in his eyes, can throw hands like Canelo Alvarez. For context, Alvarez, who faces Terence Crawford in just three days, owns a record of 63 wins and 2 losses, with 39 victories by knockout for a 61.9% KO ratio. Famous for his sharp combinations, body attacks, and elite head movement for counterpunching and defense, he’s a standard few in MMA can match. So for the former UFC flyweight champion to identify a fighter with similar skills is nothing short of remarkable. So whom did he pick?

Is it possible to match the skills of Canelo Alvarez?

Yesterday on his YouTube channel “Mighty,” Demetrious Johnson broke down Saul “Canelo” Alvarez ahead of his upcoming superfight with Terence Crawford on Netflix. While analyzing Canelo’s career, Johnson highlighted Alvarez’s 2017 bout with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., where both fighters went toe-to-toe before Canelo emerged victorious via unanimous decision after 12 rounds at his familiar battleground, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

During that breakdown, Johnson admitted, “I wish I can have [the power Canelo has].” He explained further, “In MMA, you can’t do this type of stand-up because the target moves, even in kickboxing. Maybe old-school K1, you could get away with combinations like this, like Cro Cop used to do, but you would never see anybody throw hands like this in mixed martial arts.” But then Johnson revealed that there might be one exception.

“Maybe Ilia Topuria when he gets the same heart and the person stands and banks, like what he did with Max Holloway,” Johnson said. Still, he cautioned, “But mixed martial arts, they move way too much in order to get a five piece or six piece chicken meal like Canelo can.” Ilia Topuria, of course, handed Holloway the first knockout loss of his career in their featherweight title fight at UFC 308. However, Holloway himself later pointed out that Topuria’s recent surge, including his win over Charles Oliveira, may have been more about timing than pure dominance.

“It’s just tough, right?” Holloway told CBS Sports. “Yeah, he beat the names, and you can’t deny that. But then when you look, it just sucks with everything that’s going on when you look at that Volk fight – Volk coming off what he did (in a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev). That’s kind of crazy. But people just look at the name. They’re not looking at the record.” Whether Topuria truly has the skills to mirror Canelo Alvarez remains to be seen in his future fights. Still, drawing comparisons to Canelo is no small feat, and now even Joe Rogan is left stunned by why Alvarez is so difficult to knock out.

Canelo Alvarez’s real secret lies in his legs

To understand Canelo Alvarez’s legendary durability, you have to look at more than just his chin, which starts with his legs. According to Jim Lampley on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Canelo himself once explained, “Everything I do in boxing is upper body, and everything I do on the horse is lower body.” This mix of boxing and horseback training, Lampley suggested, is the foundation of his strength and stability in the ring.

Lampley emphasized that Canelo Alvarez’s durability comes less from his jaw and more from his base. “The reason you can’t knock him down is not because of his chin—it’s because of his legs, his base,” he explained. “You can’t get him off balance. He is too strong from the waist down.” That lower-body power, built outside the gym, gives the Mexican champion an edge that most fighters simply don’t have.

The unique training comes from Canelo’s dedication to hunter jumper horseback riding, which he treats as an extension of his boxing regimen. Lampley recalled watching him train at an equestrian center, saying Canelo would spend “two and a half hours of hunter jumper riding before going to his gym.” This routine developed explosive leg strength, balance, and coordination, all crucial in making him nearly impossible to knock down in the ring.

Even Joe Rogan was stunned at the unusual training method, reacting with, “Why the f— would you do that when you’re training for a fight?” Yet for Canelo, it’s exactly this unconventional approach that sets him apart. By combining traditional boxing drills with horseback training, he’s created a foundation that makes him one of the hardest fighters in the sport to destabilize. With that in mind, the question is, should Ilia Topuria really be compared to Canelo Alvarez?