Demetrious Johnson excited to test himself in BJJ: “This is the only way for me to see where I'm at”

Reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion ‘Mighty Mouse’ Demetrious Johnson is getting ready to enter a different kind of arena soon. He is set to compete at the 2023 IBJJF Masters Worlds jiu-jitsu tournament.

The longtime mixed martial arts legend has reached the pinnacle of his sport and is widely considered by many to be the greatest MMA fighter of all time. But the 37-year-old American legend wants to test himself in a different combat sport for the first time in his career.

Johnson recently made a guest appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani to talk about his decision to try pure grappling. ‘Mighty Mouse’ said:

“So with jiu-jitsu it's almost different because I wanna see where I'm at. And then when I jumped into gi, it was for me to take away my athletic ability and be able to learn how to use my grips. And I feel this is the only way for me to see where I'm at by going to the Master Worlds and just see where I am. It's a 38-man bracket, I'm gonna go out there and do my best. And yeah, see what happens.”

There is no doubt Demetrious Johnson is among MMA’s greatest fighters ever, but his style was built by combining the best of striking and grappling, which brought him immense success for more than a decade. Take away the striking element, and it will be interesting to see how ‘Mighty Mouse’ holds up against some of the world’s most dangerous submission grapplers.

This could also be preparation for Johnson’s return to ONE Championship action later this year, where he is rumored to be booked for a showdown with ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci in Qatar.

Stay tuned for all the news and updates on Demetrious Johnson’s next ONE Championship fight right here on Sportskeeda.