Demetrious Johnson believes fighting in Asia adds to his legacy as an MMA fighter

Demetrious Johnson discussed how his ONE Championship tenure is furthering his legacy.

Before joining ONE, ‘Mighty Mouse’ solidified himself as one of the greatest fighters of all time by becoming a 12x world champion in North America. The flyweight legend was then traded from the UFC to ONE, leading to continued success in Asia.

During an interview with Sports Illustrated, Johnson had this to say about his legacy as a fighter:

“When you look at the best athletes in mixed martial arts, they’ve fought on both sides of the world. They become champion in Japan, dominate, then come to America. Rampage Jackson became a champion. Shogun Rua became a champion. Then they came to America. I’m doing the opposite.”

‘Mighty Mouse’ made his ONE Championship debut in March 2019 and proceeded to win his first three fights in the same year against Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada, and Danny Kingad. His win against Kingad crowned him as the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix champion. In April 2021, he took on Adriano Moraes, the flyweight king at the time.

Although Moraes is highly respected by the ONE community, most MMA fans were shocked when the Brazilian defeated Johnson with a second-round knockout. ‘Mighty Mouse’ bounced back with a mixed rules win against Rodtang Jitmuangnon before rematching with ‘Mikinho’ in August last year. The American avenged his loss to become the ONE flyweight world champion.

Watch Demetrious Johnson knock out Adriano Moraes below:

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Demetrious Johnson reflects on his first career knockout loss against Adriano Moraes

On May 5, Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes will fight for the third time. During the same interview with Sports Illustrated, Johnson was asked about the mental effects of his loss to Moraes, which was the first time the reigning flyweight world champion lost inside the distance. He had this to say:

“The longer you do this, the more likely it is you’re going to get knocked out. Sh*t happens. I’m not worried about it. I know how good I am.”

Johnson vs. Moraes 3 is headlining ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video. The historic event goes down inside the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, which will be ONE’s first event on North American soil.