BJJ brown belt Demetrious Johnson says he prefers gi over no-gi: “The stuff that you can be doing is absolutely amazing”

ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson has grown to appreciate Brazilian jiu-jitsu more as he got up there in age.

‘Migthy Mouse’, who’s currently a BJJ brown belt, even shares his fondness for grappling with his two young sons Tyron and Maverick, who both train and compete in “The Gentle Art”.

In a recent interview on The MMA Hour, the legendary MMA star talked about his BJJ exploits and shared his preference between gi and no-gi:

“I'm a gi guy. No-gi for me is like, the stuff that you can be doing in gi is absolutely amazing. Amazing.”

‘DJ’ continued:

“Like the sh*t I learned the other day, you know, if he's going to grab his gi, you can lock his hand down, jump around and choke him out with the lapel. And then, if he defends that, then you can do a bolo and get his back. And then you have his arm lock.”

Watch the full interview:

Demetrious Johnson picking gi is a surprising choice, considering he made a name for himself in MMA, which is practically a no-gi match with strikes allowed.

Then again, BJJ practitioners can attest that grappling in gi and no-gi feels like two different worlds that are quite fundamentally similar but also vastly different altogether.

While no-gi and submission grappling are all the rage these days, there’s nothing like embracing tradition and tracing the roots of the sport by donning the gi.

Johnson, for his part, loves BJJ so much that he even signed up for the upcoming IBJJF Masters Worlds in Las Vegas on August 31 to September 2. The 37-year-old will be competing in the brown belt Masters 2 featherweight division.