KANSAS CITY, Mo. – UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson tied the promotion’s record for consecutive title defenses without much resistance.

Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) picked up his 10th straight title defense – tying ex-middleweight champ Anderson Silva – with another masterful performance, battering Wilson Reis (22-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) en route to a third-round submission.

The flyweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC on FOX 24 event at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. It aired on FOX following prelims on FOX and UFC Fight Pass.

The fight was over at the 4:49 mark of the third round when Reis, the No. 5 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, submitted to an armbar, a far more attractive option than the one Johnson presented by mounting him and pounding away with punches.

Until the fight-ending sequence, Johnson gave Reis less and less hope of catching him with a punch or takedown, much less hurting him. Conversely, Johnson opened up his offense even more, dishing out increasing levels of punishment to the point where the challenger’s face was a red and swollen mess.

Admiring his work afterward, the No. 1 flyweight and pound-for-pound great declared the obvious: He’s unmatched as a UFC champ.

“I think the crowd recognizes it, you know?” Johnson said. “(Georges St-Pierre) and Anderson (Silva) are great champions, but I’m the best champion to ever step into this octagon. I’m finishing my opponents. There’s not another champion who can mix it up, wrestle, strike (and) clinch.”

After a rough first round punctuated his previous title defense against “The Ultimate Fighter 24” winner Tim Elliott, Johnson was in vintage form doing all those things, hitting Reis with a barrage of fast punches and kicks before he could be hit back. Reis had success clutching a few kicks and converting them to takedowns, only to see Johnson pop back to his feet and resume his attack.

Johnson went to the body often with kicks and punches in the second round, confusing Reis so much that he was able to sneak in bigger shots as his opponent tried to move and cover up. At the conclusion of the frame, a knee to the body dropped Reis, and Johnson nearly finished with a series of hammerfists.

A demoralized Reis came out for round three, despite the utter shellacking he’d taken, but it was just a matter of time before Johnson was able to catch him. Wholly unconcerned with any counter, the champ waded into striking range and landed big shots, resisting takedown attempts before getting one of his own. Forced to his back from a guillotine attempt, Reis took punches and elbows to the face before giving up mount, and Johnson finished things off with the armbar.

“This was the best training camp I’ve ever had,” Johnson said. “(My coach) Matt (Hume) said, ‘Just be you.’ And I went back and did a lot of things different, and this is the best I’ve ever felt.”

There will be more interest in Johnson moving up to challenge for the bantamweight title given his record-breaking run. The current 135-pound champ, Cody Garbrandt, would no doubt like to end Johnson’s reign. But Johnson isn’t deviating from his plan to break records in his division.

First things first – No. 11 at flyweight. Then a bigger fight, and a bigger payday.

“I already told (UFC President) Dana White, I need seven figures,” Johnson said. “But next time we step in the octagon, we breaking!”

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(MMAjunkie’s Matt Erickson and Simon Samano contributed to this report on site in Kansas City.)