Demetrious Johnson credits Rodtang fight for helping him “break down”. in-fight moments better

Demetrious Johnson revealed he evolved as a fighter after defeating Rodtang.

In March 2022, ‘Mighty Mouse’ went to war with Rodtang in a historic mixed-rules bout. ‘The Iron Man’ found success in the opening Muay Thai round, but Johnson survived and secured a rear-naked choke in round two under MMA rules.

During a recent interview on The MMA Hour, Johnson reflected on his win against Rodtang by discussing how he evolved from the experience. The reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion had this to say:

“I'm at a different level where I can see things as they break down now. In the past, I'd just black out. I can remember what happens, but I wasn't in there. It was all reaction and training. Now I'm like I'm in there. It's me fighting.”

After taking out Rodtang, Demetrious Johnson fought Adriano Moraes in back-to-back fights to end their trilogy series. Moraes won the first fight, but Johnson won the next two to emerge with the ONE flyweight MMA world title.

Before his last fight against Moraes, Johnson teased his retirement from fighting. Shortly after getting his hand raised at ONE Fight Night 10, ‘Mighty Mouse’ revealed he hasn’t made an official decision.

If Demetrious Johnson decides to fight again, he could be matched up against Kairat Akhmetov, who is riding a six-fight win streak. ‘The Kazakh’ fought on the undercard of ONE Fight Night 10, defeating Reece McLaren by unanimous decision.

Johnson and Akhmetov faced off after the main event to create hype for the potential world title matchup.