“Just go on these lies” - How Demetrious Johnson deals with fans who don’t know who he is

Despite his status as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson does not take himself too seriously, and quite frankly, it’s one of the American superstar’s most endearing qualities.

While ‘DJ’ is arguably one of the most well-known fighters in mixed martial arts circles, he admits that some people still have no clue who he is or what he does; particularly those who do not follow MMA.

When out in public, Johnson admits he doesn’t exactly pass the eye test of being an elite fighter with his diminutive stature. The 36-year-old gets that and actually has a playful way of dealing with certain kinds of situations.

Demetrious Johnson recently guested on the Joe Rogan Experience and discussed a slew of interesting topics. On the lighter side of things, ‘Mighty Mouse’ told Joe Rogan a hilarious story of how he messes with people who simply approach him because he’s supposedly famous:

“Some people are like, ‘Hey man, can I get a picture’. So I say sure, why not? They know who I am. But then, my favorite is when people are like they’re all looking at this small 5’3 black guy in the middle of nowhere with two kids. They’re like, ‘Who the f*** is this guy? Are you famous? What do you do?’”

Johnson continued:

“So I have a whole list of what I do. One of them is like I’m the CEO of a pharmaceutical company... Male enhancement pills. Just go on these lies because it’s f***ing fun, that’s why I do it.”

Moreover, Johnson bared that he also told stories about supposedly being an astronaut from NASA who had just got back from the moon. Believe it or not, some people eat it up, which amuses Johnson greatly.

While it’s all fun and games at the moment, ‘DJ’ said it might even come in handy when he eventually retires from fighting.

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Demetrious Johnson raves about ONE’s tight-knit community

After years of fighting in North America, Demetrious Johnson has never been happier since moving to ONE Championship in 2018.

Apart from getting to fight the best of the best, the reigning flyweight king discussed the promotion’s culture of promoting family values amongst its fighters.

He told Joe Rogan in the same interview:

“The beautiful thing about over there is that it’s like a frat house. It’s like a college house. What I mean by that is after the fight, we’re all in the back. You see Stamp [Fairtex], you see Adriano [Moraes], you see Yuya Wakamatsu, you see Rodtang. We’re all there just chatting it up."

‘DJ’ even cited this heartwarming moment between his fellow fighters:

"I remember Stamp Fairtex was, ‘Oh, I wanted to win so bad.’ She fought Angela Lee that night, I believe. And Adriano was like, ‘It’s ok. Today, it wasn’t your time. You have to learn. You learn from this, right?’ We’re all trying to make sure we all eat."

Watch Demetrious Johnson on the JRE below: