Demetrious Johnson tells Aljamain Sterling: “Once you become champ, the grind never stops”

Demetrious Johnson knows all too well about the struggles of being a world champion.

‘Mighty Mouse’ has reigned as the undisputed ONE flyweight world titleholder ever since his knockout victory over Adriano Moraes in August 2022. He successfully defended the title against the Brazilian in May this year, and since then Johnson has been taking a long hard look at his career in hopes of deciding whether to keep competing or walk away after nearly 20 years of dominance.

Recently, Demetrious Johnson spoke about the difficulty of becoming and remaining a mixed martial arts world champion, noting the loss that Aljamain Sterling suffered on August 19 after making a relatively quick turnaround.

Johnson said during a recent episode of his MIGHTYcast podcast:

“The biggest thing we talked about was the grind of a champion... You guys don’t know this, but Aljamain Sterling had surgery on his neck. He had surgery on his hands. He’s had surgery on his shoulders, I believe. And every single time you get surgery, it takes a lot out of you. And as him being a champion, he fought Henry Cejudo. He did a quick turnaround and fought ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. He had no time to relax."

Johnson continued:

“That was one of the things I hated about being an MMA champion. Because once you win the world title… Once you win, or even defending it, you go to the press conference and they go, ‘Hey, hey, hey. What’s going on guys? John Morgan here for MMA Junkie. Great fight, great crowd. So, what’s next?’ It’s like, I haven’t gotten an opportunity to get back to the room yet and hit it from behind with my wife. Give me an opportunity to get home and get some sex.”

Demetrious Johnson has carried world championships in multiple elite-level promotions, so it’s safe to say he’s speaking from experience when talking about the grind of a champion.

Since making his ONE Championship debut in 2019, ‘Mighty Mouse’ has amassed an impressive 6-1 record, including a win in a first-of-its-kind hybrid-rules fight against Muay Thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

What comes next for Johnson remains to be seen, but fans are keeping their fingers crossed that he will return to the circle for one more fight before hanging up his gloves for good.