Demetrious Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. He's on The Mount Rushmore along with Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Amanda Nunes. But it never seemed like the former UFC flyweight champion could garner respect from fans and his ex-employer.
In 2018, Johnson was part of the first-ever trade in MMA history when he was sent to ONE Championship for Ben Askren.
With a new lease on life in the Asia-based promotion, Johnson had gone 3-0, won the ONE flyweight grand prix, which netted him an opportunity to challenge current titleholder Adriano Moraes in April 2021. "Mighty Mouse" was the heavy favorite and expected to blow out Moraes. But Moraes had other plans in mind and knocked Johnson out in the second to capture the championship.
Sixteen months later, Johnson gets another opportunity to win a world title in two different organizations as he takes on Moraes Friday night (10 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video) at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
A couple of days before the fight, Johnson spoke to DAZN at 3.a.m. in Singapore and discussed a variety of topics in his own words.
His mental health as a fighter
"I think for me, mental health is a huge thing. And I think mental health training is a big thing. For me, I like to visualize a lot. I visualize myself getting my hand raised and I visualize myself not getting my hand raised. For me, it's a very healthy way to go about competing. I've been doing it for years and years. It served me well... served me really, really well actually because when I fought Adriano last time, I got knocked out. I remember coming back to hotel, and I watched the fight. I was like 'Goddamnit, I f—ing got hit with that uppercut and then he landed that knee'.
"I talked with everybody. I'm very upset with the outcome. But hey, it is what it is, and you move forward. Even when I beat Rodtang (Jitmuangnon), my demeanor was actually the same. It was a rough first round, but we got him in a second round, which I thought I was going to be able to do and get the rear-naked choke. I'm grateful for the opportunity; shout out to the boys that we did it and move on to the next one. So we had that mindset, and I think that's a big part of the mental health in that it's good. For me, that's what helps me a lot. I think visualizing both sides of optimum height is only going to make you train harder and just be prepared for whatever comes."
Losing the first fight to Moraes
"Once I got to the hotel room, 'I was like, let's watch it. Watch, and I was like, 'ah s—'. It is what it is. I went home and watched it with the coach, and he was like, 'Yeah, you just ducked into it, and you got hit with a knee on the ground'. And then that was it. I went home and started picking up dog s— in the front yard, taking the kids to school, and returning to life. I tell people all the time, I always use this word, 'It's a job'.
"Right? And I love my job. I love fighting. But once everything is done, I put it behind me, and I look forward to the next one. The same thing with this fight. If I go out there and if I beat Adriano, great. I'll look at the pictures, watch the video (and) see what I did well, see what I did wrong, and move forward. Then the same thing if I lose. It's just a job."
Training with Henry Cejudo
"Henry Cejudo is an amazing athlete in wrestling and mixed martial arts. So we got a house in Arizona. And I was like, 'Yo, do you mind if I come train with you'? He goes, 'Absolutely dude, lets get together and work together'. I was grateful for the opportunity, and I look forward to doing it more in the future."