Demetrious Johnson says anxiety in Rodtang fight made him better in rematch against Adriano Moraes

It’s rare for Demetrious Johnson to feel any other emotion besides confidence before his matches, but that’s what exactly happened when he fought Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X.

The American legend admitted in an interview with Ariel Helwani that he felt anxious before he squared up against the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion in Singapore.

Johnson, despite the early jitters, got the submission win in his mixed-rules bout when he slept Rodtang with a rear-naked choke in the second round. ‘Mighty Mouse’ also used that Rodtang match as a springboard into a more important bout.

Just five months after he submitted Rodtang, Johnson got another shot at Adriano Moraes for the ONE flyweight world title. While he fell via knockout in his first bid, Johnson the one sending the knee strikes for the KO finish second time around.

Johnson told Helwani on The MMA Hour that he felt he reached another level of fighting after he fought Rodtang in March 2022. With a better sense of how he operates, Johnson was able to knock Moraes out with a gorgeous flying knee in their rematch at ONE on Prime Video 1.

The now reigning ONE flyweight world champion said:

“Rodtang, yeah. I got anxious, you know, butterflies. But, and then the second Moraes fight, you know, I felt like once I hit the Rodtang fight, I feel like I hit a new level of like my vision and being in the moment like being there.”

Johnson had every right to feel a bit nervous when he faced Rodtang in ONE Championship’s 10th-anniversary show. The Thai megastar is virtually indestructible and the first round of their mixed-rules bout was fought under Muay Thai.

‘Mighty Mouse’, however, weathered the storm and survived into the second round, which was fought under mixed martial arts. With all his tools at his disposal, Johnson was able to put Rodtang under his will.

After dodging a left hook, Johnson quickly brought the match to the ground where Rodtang was utterly defenseless. Johnson carefully got control of Rodtang’s back and ultimately locked in the rear-naked choke for the submission win 2:13 into the second.

See the interview below: