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MMA GOAT contender and ONE flyweight Grand Prix champion Demetrious Johnson recently sat down with Brian Campbell of Morning Kombat. In the interview, DJ discussed his recent mixed rules win over Rodtang Jitmuangnon and where he is in his career, amongst others.
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After much talk about ONE's expansion to the US market and how he plans to spend the rest of his career, the conversation steered to the current climate of the flyweight and bantamweight divisions.
Though he has been best known for ruling the UFC's 125-pound flyweight division for almost a decade, Johnson is now fighting 135-pounds in ONE. Because ONE Championship does not allow weight cutting, DJ is fighting ten pounds higher than when he was in the UFC. As the conversation went to how he would fare against the other 135-pound fighters in the world, Demetrious Johnson had this to say:
"I know I'm a smaller 135-er but I think, skillset-wise, I think I can hang with guys like Petr Yan, Aljamain Sterling. I know [ONE flyweight champ] Adriano Moares can handle those guys too. They are definitely a lot, lot bigger, you know? I remember Aljamain Sterling, he walks around 165 [pounds]. I was like, 'S***, I can barely get over 142 and I'm having ribs and everything'."
Though martial arts philosophies instill the idea that "technique beats power and size," size can matter once you reach a certain level of skill. If you pit two jiu-jitsu blue belts with the same experience and skill set against each other, the one who has more strength and size will almost always have the advantage. Nothing is ever absolute, of course.
The last time Demetrious Johnson lost in the UFC before dropping his belt was at 135 pounds in 2011 against an equally technical but bigger Dominick Cruz. It's interesting to hear how the former flyweight king sees himself now compared to the current landscape of the UFC's bantamweight ranks.
We do wonder, however, how he fares against the winner of the title unification bout between Petr Yan and Aljamain Sterling this Saturday.
Watch the full interview below:
"I realized how much bigger 135-ers were compared to me" - Demetrious Johnson on his 2011 loss to Dominick Cruz at 135 pounds
Referencing DJ's bantamweight loss to then-champion Dominick Cruz in the UFC, Brian Campbell asked if 'Mighty Mouse' ever thought about running it back with 'The Dominator'. To this, Demetrious Johnson replied:
"No, I wasn't. Dominique Cruz is a great athlete, great fighter, and I lost to him and learned a lot from that fight. I realized how much bigger 135-ers were compared to me, in that timeframe. Even now I think 135-ers are so [much] bigger for me. I'm just a smaller guy. I'm an in-betweener, like Matt Serra. He could make 155 but he's too small for 170 so he goes back-and-forth trying to find his way. But yeah, I never thought about that."
One thing to note here is how transparent DJ was at the size difference of 135-pound fighters compared to him back then. Perhaps it takes time to get used to carrying more weight in relation to performing at your peak level in the cage. Regardless, Demetrious Johnson is now firmly perched in ONE's 135-pound division, and it looks like he's in peak fighting form.
