Demetrious Johnson says he can beat bigger opponents because of his grappling ability

Demetrious Johnson is no stranger to being the smaller man inside the cage on fight night but that hasn’t limited his success.

Known as one of the best technicians in the sport’s history, everything that ‘Mighty Mouse’ does is at an elite level, from his fight IQ to his striking.

Johnson’s skillset makes up for the fact that he isn’t the most powerful or physically imposing fighter to compete in the divisions where he has been dominant.

In a recent interview on the fightTIPS YouTube channel, 'DJ' spoke about how he uses his grappling to take away his opponents' physical advantages over him:

“That’s the beautiful thing I love about grappling. It's such a strong suit where you can take the best strikers in the world and put them on their back like ‘What is going on?’ They don’t know what they’re doing right? So grappling.”

Watch the full video below:

Since the early days of MMA, grappling has been a key tactic in evening out the playing field between two opponents of different stature.

Demetrious Johnson has used this effectively in his two previous meetings with Adriano Moraes. With his Brazilian rival having a clear size and power advantage over him, the reigning ONE flyweight world champion's grappling technique evens out their exchanges.

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Demetrious Johnson looking to electrify the crowd at ONE’s Colorado show

At ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson will look to add another huge accomplishment to his already legendary career.

On May 5, ‘Mighty Mouse’ will face Adriano Moraes in the culmination of their incredible trilogy. The fight will serve as the main event for a historic night in ONE Championship, the promotion's first event in the United States.

Taking place at the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield, Colorado, the fight will be a homecoming of sorts for Demetrious Johnson as he brings the ONE flyweight world championship back to the US.

After making his name and building his legacy as a world champion in the US, Johnson’s legacy in the region is already assured, but he can look to add to it with his first fight in this part of the world in four years.

In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Johnson spoke about how he has been building up to this point in his career, and he expects to send the fans home happy on May 5:

"It’s a culmination of many years of hard work. Headlining the very first [ONE] show in the US, I’m going to put on a show. I plan on blowing the roof off."

ONE Fight Night 10, like all of ONE Championship’s Amazon cards, is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Read the entire SI interview here.