Demetrious Johnson on experience rolling with Garry Tonon, other high-level grapplers
ONE flyweight world champion and MMA legend Demetrious Johnson was in attendance at ONE Fight Night 6 in Bangkok, Thailand last weekend. While still in Thailand, 'Mighty Mouse' had a short interview with SCMP MMA on recent events surrounding his life, his career, and the promotion he's currently signed with, ONE Championship.
One of the most interesting bits of the interview was Johnson's time rolling and sparring with ONE grappling athletes like Garry Tonon, the Ruotolo Brothers, and Mikey Musumeci. Since the promotion showcases submission grappling in addition to MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai, cross-training with ground specialists is a luxury Johnson can have.
On what it was like to grapple with BJJ world champions, Demetrious Johnson said:
"Garry Tonon is an absolutely amazing grappler and a great human being as well. It was good to actually get a chance to just mix it up with him. Those guys, Garry, Mikey Musumeci, and Gordon Ryan. Just the New Wave team. I know Mikey isn’t with the New Wave team. The Ruotolo brothers, all those guys, IBJJF, and ADCC. They’re just on a different level when it comes to grappling. I wanted to be able to see what it felt like."
New Wave Jiujitsu is a BJJ super-team led by modern-day martial arts master John Danaher, after his previous super-team, Danaher Death Squad, disbanded last year. The team has some of the best submission grapplers today, like ADCC Superfight world champion Gordon Ryan, ADCC gold medalist Giancarlo Bodoni, and ONE MMA star Garry Tonon.
Tye Ruotolo, Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci are all fighting under the ONE Championship banner, with the latter two holding world titles in the promotion. Getting the chance to train with this team is a priceless experience, even for a bonafide MMA legend like Demetrious Johnson.
Watch his full interview here:
Demetrious Johnson rolled with an 18-year-old member of New Wave Jiujitsu
Continuing his story on his time at New Wave, Demetrious Johnson briefly described what it was like to roll with one of the younger members of the team:
"I rolled with one of the 18-year-olds over there, his name is Juan. Just the leg-lock game. I was like, I’m excited to punch you guys in the face. Because you touch my knees and my ankles, and I’m hitting you. It’s great to grapple with those guys and just see a different look."
When it comes to leglocks, they are highly lethal in submission grappling contests. The consensus greatest No-Gi grappler of all time, Gordon Ryan, is a master of leglocks. In MMA, however, they're more of a high-risk, high-reward situation.
Attacking someone's leg with both of your arms while you're in the bottom position leaves your head vulnerable to strikes. If you finish it swiftly, you can end the bout quickly. If not, well, we all know what happened to Garry Tonon when he faced Thanh Le for the world title last year.