“Enjoy the journey of jiu-jitsu” - Demetrious Johnson feels zero pressure in his quest for excellence in the BJJ gi scene

Demetrious Johnson wants to enjoy every minute on the mat.

In September, the former ONE flyweight MMA world champion laid down his gold in the center of the Circle at ONE 168: Denver, announcing that he was officially retiring from the sport after nearly 20 years of dominance.

It was an emotional moment for both Johnson and fight fans who weren't quite ready to say goodbye. Luckily, they don't have to — for the most part.

While 'DJ' is done throwing hands in four-ounce gloves, he still regularly competes in some of the world's biggest BJJ tournaments — though he's not taking it nearly as seriously as he did his MMA career.

"It just doesn’t seem fun to me right now in the position where I put myself in where, ‘I’m getting ready for this jiu-jitsu match, I gotta train super hard.’ And 'He’s gonna do this and he’s gonna do that.’ I really show up, like hey, let’s run it," Johnson told MMA Fighting in a recent interview. "Let’s see what we can do. Let’s see how we can enjoy the journey of jiu-jitsu."

See the interview below:

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Demetrious Johnson is doing his best to keep things stress-free on and off the mat

Demetrious Johnson spent the last two decades of his life stressing over defending titles and meeting contractual obligations.

Now that he's free from all that, 'DJ' has no intention of adding any unnecessary drama to his life over a loss on the mat or a silver medal instead of gold:

“Because I’ve had the 18 to 20 years of stressing about ‘I gotta get ready for this fight, I gotta defend the belt.’ If I go out and I lose in my last tournament, I had a good time, I had fun," Johnson continued. "Went home after the tournament, jumped to the pool with my daughter, it was the best time ever.

"I was able to make content, and yeah. I’m happy where I’m at right now on my jiu-jitsu journey.”

Johnson closed out his MMA career as a multi-time world champion, winning belts in some of the biggest organizations around the world.

Under the ONE Championship banner, he won both the ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix tournament and the ONE flyweight MMA world title. Along the way, he competed in his first career trilogy against fellow flyweight great Adriano Moraes and made history as part of the promotion's first-ever mixed-rules bout against Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

Look back at Johnson's legendary career in ONE below via the promotion's official YouTube channel: