MMA legend Demetrious Johnson admitted that transitioning from wrestling to BJJ, was one of the biggest adjustments he made as a life-long martial artist.
Unbeknownst to many, the flyweight MMA champ ranks above some of the strongest jiu-jitsu practitioners in the world. Most recently, he made waves in the 2024 IBJJF Pans, where he won medals in his division and the open weight category.
Although Johnson effortlessly dominates the jiu-jitsu scene, he admits that it was a difficult transition.
Giving an example on his 'Mightycast' this week, Johnson said:
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"For me, coming from a wrestling background, mine was turtling. Because in wrestling, you don't want to go to your back, right? You want to go to your stomach. You go to your stomach in jiu-jitsu and you get, you get choked out."
At the moment, Johnson is waiting patiently for his next fight announcement with ONE Championship, which could potentially be scheduled sometime this year.
So far, he's racked up a record of five MMA wins, including one mixed-rules fight against Rodtang Jitmuangnon back in 2022.
Fans believe a grappling match is on the horizon for Demetrious Johnson
After exhausting his list of potential flyweight MMA opponents, Demetrious Johnson might have a lot more fun getting into a grappling scrap than defending his world title.
The fans on Instagram have chosen ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion 'Darth Rigatoni' Mikey Musumeci to be the perfect candidate that would give them their money's worth. Fans wrote:
"Mikey in a mixed rules fight."
"Grappling with Mikey"
"As long as it's in Atlanta it doesn't matter."
"DJ vs Mikey."