Demetrious Johnson tells Liam Harrison his mentality after KO loss to Adriano Moraes

ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson is the epitome of a complete fighter. Not only is he one of the most skilled and technical fighters in MMA, he is also one of the best at handling adversity and bouncing back.

On more than one occasion, 'Mighty Mouse' found himself in trouble but somehow maintained his composure, survived, and came back stronger.

Although he's had back-and-forth battles in the past, perhaps it was his battles with Adriano Moraes that exemplified Demetrious Johnson's legendary resilience and resolve the most.

Moraes shockingly knocked out DJ in their first fight back in 2021. Johnson returned to the drawing board and avenged the first KO loss of his career by knocking out Moraes a year later at ONE on Prime Video 1.

In a podcast interview with ONE Muay Thai star Liam Harrison, Demetrious Johnson spoke about how he managed to bounce back after such a devastating knockout loss.

Harrison posted a clip of the interview on Instagram:

"@onechampionship is heading to the USA in 4 weeks with an absolutely stacked card headlined by @mighty vs @moraesadrianomma part 3… I was lucky enough to have a quick catch up with DJ recently to talk about his fight and how camp is going..look out for the full video dropping next week #onefightnight10 #mma"

On how he mentally handled the KO loss in the first fight, DJ said:

"So, [ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion] Rodtang, fighting him, one of the dangerous strikers on the feet in ONE Championship, it kinda like, you know, [made me realize that] 'I could take a shot'. "

Demetrious Johnson continued:

"Like I took a clean shot from Rodtang and I was like, 'Okay, I can take a shot'. And then coming back to fight Adriano, the second time, I was like 'Okay, well, you know, it's gonna happen. I'm going to push the pace and try to make him fight me and see what happens'."

It's crazy to think that, in order to handle the fear of getting knocked out again, 'Mighty Mouse' decided to fight one of the most dangerous stikers in the world in Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed rules bout at ONE X.

By doing so, it helped him handle the power and scale of Adriano Moraes' striking. The level of resolve and courage to confront his fears by directly jumping into the fire is what makes Johnson a legend in the sport.

Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes will fight for a third time in the main event of ONE Fight Night 10, live from the 1stBank Center in Colorado on May 5. The event is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.