Demetrious Johnson admits he would have gotten ‘absolutely destroyed’ if he fought Rodtang in pure Muay Thai rules 

Demetrious Johnson has competed in some of the most memorable fights under the ONE Championship spotlight in recent memory, including his special rules super-fight against Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X last year.

After suffering a defeat to then-longtime flyweight king Adriano Moraes in April 2021, ‘Mighty Mouse’ announced his return to the global stage in a unique contest against the Muay Thai superstar on ONE Championship’s 10-year anniversary spectacle in March 2022.

The match which alternated between Muay Thai and MMA, with the first and third rounds being contested under ‘the art of eight limbs’ ruleset, had many predicting that the MMA GOAT wouldn’t make it out of the first round due to his rival’s proficiency in that department.

‘Mighty Mouse,’ however, survived whatever Rodtang threw at him in the first three minutes, even landing a few strikes of his own to unsettle the ONE flyweight Muay Thai king.

Then in round two, contested in Demetrious Johnson’s MMA playground, the American superstar did not waste time to zero in on his foe, and a rear-naked choke at 2:13 of the frame earned him a well-deserved win.

Looking back at the contest during a recent live stream on his YouTube channel Mighty Gaming, the flyweight king conceded that he would have lost the bout if it was contested under a pure Muay Thai ruleset.

He said:

“If that was a pure Muay Thai fight, I'll get absolutely destroyed, dude.”

Watch the stream here:

The victory, perhaps, gave him some much-needed confidence.

Just five months later, Demetrious Johnson replied to the favor that Moraes handed to him, knocking out the Brazilian to claim ONE gold.

At ONE Fight Night 10 this past May, he defended his world title for the first time in a rubber match against ‘Mikinho,’ making him a 14-time MMA world champion.