“I think ONE Championship definitely won” - Demetrious Johnson discusses historic trade with Ben Askren

Demetrious Johnson scored arguably the biggest win of his already legendary career with a fourth-round flying knee knockout of Adriano Moraes to capture the ONE flyweight world championship.

During an interview with MMA Junkie Radio, ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson looked back at his signing with ONE Championship. Specifically, the unusual circumstances that landed him in the Asia-based MMA organization.

Prior to his time in ONE, Johnson was one of the most dominant fighters in the UFC. Ready for a change of scenery, Johnson was part of a historic trade that sent him to ONE Championship in exchange for then-ONE welterweight world champion Ben Askren.

Asked about who he believes ‘won’ when it comes to the trade between the two promotions, Demetrious Johnson said:

“I think everybody won. Not just the organizations, but I think everybody: Ben Askren, Jorge Masvidal, Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman, myself. When I say that we all won, we’re all eating good now... So you look at the UFC’s standpoint, when I was there, obviously I wasn’t the highest-selling pay-per-view guy there, and I was also very dominant, so there was not an opportunity for somebody else to be able to make a name for themselves. Then ‘Triple C’ came in, cringe, did his thing. But then I leave, and you get Ben Askren.”

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While everyone benefited from the trade, Demetrious Johnson says ONE Championship “won the ball game”

According to Demetrious Johnson, both sides won in their own way, but like a majority of fans, ‘Mighty Mouse’ agrees that ONE Championship is still reaping the benefits of adding DJ to its world-class roster.

“Everybody got the opportunity to eat, and everyone’s happy,” Johnson said. “I think if it goes to decide who’s got the best fighters, I think ONE Championship definitely won that ball game by far. Nothing against Ben Askren, but I’m 36, I don’t know how old he is, but I’m still f*cking going. They’re still getting dividends from your boy here. I’m still putting the work in.”

In the end, Ben Askren walked away from the sport after going 1-2 following the trade, while Demetrious Johnson is sitting at 4-1 under the ONE banner. DJ won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix championship upon entering the promotion and is now the reigning ONE flyweight world champion.