Johnson: Bye bullying, hello martial arts
Demetrious ‘Mighty’ Johnson: “I saw it as a way some athletes used it as a way of bullying, as a way of trying to gain followers.”
The UFC traded arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the sport to ONE Championship in exchange for very arguably the greatest welterweight. There are catches to both – Demetrious Johnson recently lost, and Ben Askren never tested himself against the best. However, the trade it terrific and hopefully a sign of things to come.
For Aksren, it is a chance to fight the best welterweights in the world, potentially even division G.O.A.T. Georges St-Pierre. For Johnson, as he made clear on a recent media conference call, it is an opportunity to get away from a league that is driven by fans who find trash talk titillating.
I was always never the biggest fan of the way people went about promoting their fights over in North America, replied Johnson to the great Eddie Goldman, as transcribed by Simon Samano for MMAjunkie. I saw it as a way some athletes used it as a way of bullying, as a way of trying to gain followers. When an athlete says on Twitter ‘why haven’t you signed the contract yet’ to another athlete, for me I see that as a form of bullying. All that’s going to do is stir people to go to that person’s Twitter or social media and say, ‘You’re scared, you don’t want this, you’re chicken.’ When I see professional athletes doing that, that are trying to embody the spirit of a martial artist, it just puts a bad taste in my mouth.
I’m very, and I say with high praise, I’m very excited that I don’t have to go through that whole thing and be OK with myself as a true martial artist. And I felt I’ve always done that in my time here in North America. And now that everybody does that, it’s in everybody’s DNA in Asia. It’s always about respect and promoting the fight the correct way as a true martial artist: We’re going to go in there and test our skills against each other. I’m very much looking forward to that way of promoting fights than it is in North America. That was something that I just didn’t fit in.
People told me … there’s nothing worse than when I’m at the gym working out and somebody says, ‘Dude, if you want to sell more tickets and get your name on the Frosted Flakes, you’ve got to talk more trash.’ That’s not who I am. I’m not a confrontational person. I do mixed martial arts because it’s something I love, and it helps me express my feelings. I’m an artist when I get to compete. Artists don’t run their mouth and attack people or cause a big scene. They focus and put their energy on what they love to do, which is being a martial artist. What I love to do, which is being a martial artist. So I’m very much looking forward to it.