ONE flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson has rediscovered his love of Brazilian jiu-jitsu recently, culminating in huge success in a tournament last week.
“Mighty Mouse” overcame a near-40-man field to claim gold in the brown belt class at the IBJJF Masters tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 31.
Speaking to FloGrappling after the tournament, Johnson admitted that he felt a lot of pressure stepping back into grappling competition after dedicating years to his mixed martial arts career.
“It turned out better than I expected, you know? Thirty-eight-man bracket, single-man elimination, there’s no opportunity for mistakes. Once you f-cking lose, it’s, ‘Bye bye, better luck next year,’” he said.
“So, a lot of pressure. A lot more nerves, and that’s what I was looking for. When I fight now, there is no more nerves. It’s like the same thing over and over. But this, six matches, six different games, six different body lengths, that’s what reinvigorated me to get back into the game.”
According to the MMA legend, his knockout loss in his first fight against Adriano Moraes in 2022 was the catalyst for him to return to training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the gi.
While many fighters concentrate on no-gi due to its transferrable skills for MMA, the 37-year-old is simply enjoying the nuances of gi grappling for the time being.
“After I lost to Adriano the first time, I was like ‘OK, I want to work on my grappling game,’ and then I got back into gi, and then I started falling in love with it again,” Johnson said.
“Then my professor opened up my eyes, with all the sh-t you can do in the gi, and so now, I always train in gi. I prefer gi than no-gi. Because gi, it poses problems. No-gi, I’m basically half-ass naked, just sliding through the guard, and it’s all heel hooks, and I ain’t blowing my ACL out.”
“Mighty Mouse” brought an end to his three-fight rivalry with Moraes by defending his flyweight throne this past May at ONE Championship’s U.S. debut event, ONE Fight Night 10, and he hinted at retirement from MMA following the win.
While a call has yet to be made on his future, Johnson says he will continue to scratch the itch of competition with another Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament next month before potentially taking his newfound love around the world in search of some of the world’s best grapplers.
“My next eye is on the California IBJJF Open, and I’ll go there and try again, and then maybe I’ll go to Europe, try there, and see how it goes,” he said.
“Just go around looking for exposure. I’m just going around finding that ultimate match.”
