Demetrious Johnson says his son’s passion for jiu-jitsu has rubbed off on him: “You kind of follow your kids around”

Demetrious Johnson’s triumph in the recently concluded 2023 World Master IBJFF Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Las Vegas was huge news in the combat sports community.

The reigning ONE flyweight world champion ruled the Master 2 featherweight brown belt division.

It was a surprise to many, especially after ‘The Mighty Mouse’ tried to go under the radar when he signed up for the tournament and recently revealed that he hasn’t thought about fighting since his trilogy win over Adriano Moraes in May 2023 at ONE Fight Night 10.

But when he shifted focus to his family, the 37-year-old developed a deep love for jiu-jitsu, which was rubbed off by his son. It was shared by Johnson in the all access video posted by FloGrappling on their YouTube channel right after he received the gold medal.

Johnson said:

"My son is a big jiu-jitsu enthusiast and when you have children, you kind of follow your kids around."

The gold medal was not the only thing he got from sweeping his six matches, which included one submission win. Johnson also received a second stripe to his BJJ brown belt, which moved him closer to achieving the coveted black belt.

Due to this maiden BJJ tournament success, the widely regarded MMA GOAT is looking to join and compete in more jiu-jitsu tournaments. He sets his sights on the upcoming California IBJFF Open and eventually the European BJJ circuit.

Johnson is also expected to challenge ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci to test his BJJ skills against ‘Darth Rigatoni'.

You can watch Demetrious Johnson’s road to victory in the IBJJF Masters Worlds here: