“It’s a different world over there” - Demetrious Johnson explains the massive reach of ONE Championship
Demetrious Johnson knows that ONE Championship is slowly establishing its influence in the United States, but he’s also aware that the organization’s continental dominance over Asia is a sheer unparalleled force.
On one of his recent gaming streams, Johnson reacted to a fan-made video on how the UFC is trying to erase his legacy from its books. He also pointed out how ONE Championship’s monopoly in Asia is such an enormous force that he finds it difficult to explain.
The ONE flyweight world champion added that his fans would sometimes tell him on his streams that they wished ONE Championship had the same reach in the United States as it does in Asia.
Demetrious Johnson said:
“Asia is so massive that when there are fights and advertisements going on over in Asia, you guys don’t know about it.”
He added:
“I was outside picking up dog poop, and my neighbor was walking by. We talk, but he kind of knows what I do but he doesn’t know what I do in full. With that being said, he goes, ‘Dude, congrats on your fight!’ I was like, ‘Thanks, man! I didn’t know you watched.’ He was like, ‘No I don’t watch you fight, but my wife’s parents, they live in Taiwan, and your face is plastered all over the place in Taiwan, on the cabs, on billboards.’ So it’s a different world over there that you guys aren’t getting exposed to with advertisements that we have here in America. Just keep that in mind.”
Demetrious Johnson, often regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, was the undisputed king of the UFC flyweight division during his stint in North America and defended the division’s world title a record 11 consecutive times.
His accolades, however, are slowly being shunned, as Patrick Gavia explained in his YouTube video.
Nevertheless, Johnson’s found a new home in ONE Championship.
‘Mighty Mouse’ cemented his incomparable legacy when he became the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion in 2019 and the ONE flyweight world champion after knocking out Adriano Moraes in the fourth round of their clash at ONE on Prime Video 1 this past August.
Demetrious Johnson is on rarified air
It took him a bit of time to achieve it, but Demetrious Johnson’s world title triumph against Moraes made him a singularity in MMA.
Johnson is the first and only fighter in the history of the sport to hold world titles in both ONE Championship and the UFC. Apart from his world titles, the 36-year-old also fulfilled a lifelong dream of his.
A passionate fan of PRIDE FC, Johnson’s first goal was to become a World Grand Prix winner and he did that when he beat Danny Kingad in the final round of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix at ONE: Century Part I in October 2019.
During his post-fight press conference after his win over Moraes, Demetrious Johnson admitted that he’s grateful to fight for an organization such as ONE Championship.
“So when I got to the World Grand Prix, I was kind of satisfied, and then you know, they came up with this belt, big and gold. So like I said, man, I'm grateful. Like, I'm just grateful to be in a position I'm in. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to perform on a beautiful platform like ONE Championship and a great partnership with Amazon Prime."