Demetrious Johnson is grateful for getting back-to-back wins against legendary fighters
ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson is used to fighting only the best of the best. Nothing has changed since he joined the largest martial arts organization in the world in 2018.
‘Mighty Mouse’, now 36, is grateful for the high level of competition he has faced inside the circle so far. At this stage of his career, Johnson continues to justify why he’s considered in the conversation to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
The AMC Pankration and Evolve MMA fighter has four wins in MMA under the ONE banner and one under special rules against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
The lone blemish in the record, however, came at the hands of Adriano Moraes when he suffered the first knockout loss of his career at ONE on TNT 1 last year. This past August, at ONE on Prime Video 1, Demetrious Johnson got even.
DJ, who lost by way of a devastating knee strike in the first match, returned the favor with a highlight reel-worthy flying knee, separating the Brazilian from his consciousness. With the result, Johnson ended ‘Mikinho’s reign as the 135-pound king and added a ONE gold strap to his collection.
Now, during an interview with The Schmo, Johnson has relieved one of the most amazing fights in his storied MMA career:
“Adriano is an amazing athlete, a great champion along with the reigning flyweight champion in ONE Championship. Like I said, I was gonna go out there and just try to impose my will and I thought the first fight, he got me. When I think about the first fight, I was just trying to [keep on] rushing in, and I felt like the second fight, I was able to get my wits about me.”
Prior to that match, Demetrious Johnson also made history by partaking in the first-ever special-rules match in ONE history. He took on Thai striking machine Rodtang in a unique MMA and Muay Thai mixed-rules match at ONE X this past March.
After holding his own against Rodtang under Muay Thai rules in round one, DJ imposed his will in the MMA portion in the ensuing round. He took the ‘The Iron Man’ to the ground and put him to sleep with a rear-naked choke.
Demetrious Johnson added:
“Obviously having the Rodtang [Jitmuangnon] fight too, someone who’s a very dominant striker and be able to go two rounds with him and then obviously fight Adriano for the second time, I’m grateful I was able to come out on top of that one.“
Watch the full interview below:
John Lineker wants a piece of Demetrious Johnson inside the circle
Aside from a possible trilogy match against Moraes, Demetrious Johnson does not have a clear-cut No.1 contender for his newly won belt. Considering he fought two big names in his last two fights, it’s only fitting that ‘Mighty Mouse’ gets another high-profile opponent.
With that said, reigning ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker has already volunteered himself as the next challenger for DJ.
In an interview with ONE Championship, ‘Hands of Stone’ said he’s ready to throw down with the all-time great in a catchweight bout.
“It would be a very interesting fight. Of course, at a catchweight, because I can't get to 61 kilograms. But at a catchweight, it would be a very interesting fight. I would really enjoy this fight and I'm sure the fans will too.”
Time will tell if the promotion chooses to go down that route following Lineker's defense against Fabricio Andrade this week at ONE on Prime Video 3.