“Jiu-jitsu is something for fun” - Demetrious Johnson competing in BJJ is another avenue to cruise his competitive nature

Demetrious Johnson arguably has the greatest resume in all of mixed martial arts, but his competitive drive remains at peak level.

The reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion has been on a steady climb in his Brazilian jiu-jitsu career, and he revealed that his foray into 'The Gentle Art' is one way for him to unleash that cutthroat edge.

Johnson, during an interview on the Jaxxon Podcast, said he finds himself having fun while competing at the discipline's highest level.

He said:

"What's my X factor? I don't know, I just train. I mean, jiu-jitsu now is something for fun. I train three days a week, an hour and a half, so five hours a week, right? When I was doing mixed martial arts, I was training f****** in the morning. I mean, just pure jiu-jitsu, five hours a week. But when it comes to MMA, maybe 25 hours a week in MMA. Five to 25 hours, it's just a different beast, everything is just more detail."

Demetrious Johnson added:

"Whereas jiu-jitsu for me is just an avenue for me to enjoy and search for competition. Like, if I could be the best in the world in jiu-jitsu by training, you know, five hours a week, f*** yeah, awesome, I'm happy, right? But if I lose, I'm like, 'Oh s***, bank account is still good, life's still good.' I'm happy, I'm healthy."

See the podcast episode below:

'Mighty Mouse' remains the only fighter in history to have won world titles in both ONE Championship and UFC, and it seems he can still carve a legendary career in BJJ while remaining active in MMA.

Johnson, who defended the UFC flyweight world title a record 11 times, has hinted at retirement but is still undecisive on the career move.

The MMA legend recently made his black belt debut in professional BJJ when he competed in the 2024 IBJJF World Masters Championship in Las Vegas this past weekend.

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Demetrious Johnson details the importance of building a brand while competing

Demetrious Johnson knows being a professional fighter goes beyond the cage wall.

The flyweight MMA king said in a conversation with Angela Lee, the inaugural ONE women's atomweight MMA world champion, that his storied career taught him of the business side of the sport and the importance of building a brand while still lacing up the four-once gloves.

He said on his MightyCast podcast:

"Well, that's one thing that I learned as I got older and that's taught me...you want to be a businessman. You wanna build your brand. You can also look at the fight game as a business."

Outside of his martial arts career, Demetrious Johnson has built a steady influence on YouTube with his Mighty channel, which now has more than 720,000 subscribers.