MRI reveals muscle tear in Demetrious Johnson's knee, but no surgery required

Demetrious Johnson did in fact injure his knee earlier this month in his fight against Tim Elliott, however, the injury doesn't appear to be as bad as he originally thought.

According to the UFC flyweight champion, a recent MRI revealed he has tears in his popliteus muscle, which will not require surgery. Johnson believes the injury should heal in three-to-five weeks.

"I am going to let this heal and not rush back in there," he told MMAFighting.com.

When asked when he would ideally like to return to action, Johnson said, "maybe April or may, but if my injury needs more time, I'll let it heal."

He added he would like his next fight, which would mark his tenth straight title defense, to be in Las Vegas. Should he win that fight, "Mighty Mouse" would tie Anderson Silva's record for most successful title defenses in UFC history.

Earlier this month during an appearance on "The MMA Hour," Johnson said he felt the knee injury occur in the first round of his eventual unanimous decision win over Elliott, "The Ultimate Fighter" season 24 winner. Initially, though, he thought he tore his lateral collateral ligament in his knee.

"Adrenaline takes over," he said. "I’ve fought with a broken leg, a broken rib, a broken hand…so when it popped I was like, okay, fun fun."