Demetrious Johnson has lengthy established that he’s one of many biggest blended martial arts fighters to have ever lived.
After making a clear sweep of the flyweight division within the UFC, ‘Mighty Mouse’ additional constructed his legacy in ONE Championship, whereby he now reigns because the promotion’s flyweight world champion.
As the one fighter to ever win world titles in each promotions, Johnson can nonetheless add to his glowing legend when he defends the ONE flyweight world title at ONE Battle Night time 10 on Prime Video.
Johnson, who’s by no means been in a trilogy, will face rival Adriano Moraes in the primary occasion of the Could 5 card at 1stBank Heart. Identical to all of ONE Championship’s Amazon playing cards, ONE Battle Night time 10 is accessible dwell and at no cost to all Prime Video subscribers.
As he heads into his first struggle again in the US, let’s look again at Demetrious Johnson’s three largest wins in ONE Championship.
#3. Danny Kingad
Competing in a match was all the time considered one of Demetrious Johnson’s profession targets, and he did simply that the second he arrived at ONE Championship.
Johnson utterly dominated Yuya Wakamatsu and Tatsumitsu Wada in his first two matches within the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix earlier than he confronted Danny Kingad within the last match of the match.
Decided to finish a objective he’s all the time seen himself engaging in, ‘Mighty Mouse’ placed on a clinic and subjected Kingad to a technical masterpiece. The American legend utilized super wrestling strain that virtually negated no matter offense Kingad had deliberate.
Johnson took absolute management of the match en path to the unanimous determination win to seize the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix title.
#2. Rodtang Jitmuangnon
For somebody who’s competed professionally for near 20 years, Demetrious Johnson has definitely confronted each opponent conceivable.
That was till he confronted off towards a putting monster in Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Johnson took on Rodtang, the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion, in a mixed-rules bout at ONE X in March 2022. The four-round contest was separated beneath two rulesets, with the primary and third utilizing Muay Thai and the remaining rounds utilizing MMA’s World Guidelines.
The match, nonetheless, by no means made it previous the second spherical.
After weathering the storm within the first body, Johnson knew that Rodtang was in uncharted territory and it was his job to tug the Thai celebrity into the deep finish.
Johnson, in a single fluid movement, ducked Rodtang’s left hook and shortly wrestled his approach right into a dominant place. As soon as taking management of Rodtang’s again, Johnson slapped in a good rear-naked choke to seize the submission win.
#1. Adriano Moraes
Poetic is one phrase to explain Demetrious Johnson’s flying knee knockout of Adriano Moraes of their second assembly at ONE on Prime Video 1.
Moraes, arguably essentially the most embellished flyweight in ONE Championship historical past, holds the excellence of being the one individual to ever end Johnson. The Brazilian celebrity knocked Johnson out of their first assembly at ONE on TNT I in April 2021 with a knee strike that despatched tremors all through the fight sports activities world.
So when their second match got here rolling out in August 2022, Johnson knew that he needed to get one again.
Issues, nonetheless, seemed bleak within the first two rounds as Moraes managed a lot of the struggle along with his grappling. Johnson, although, turned issues round within the third when he used his boxing to shut the space and cease ‘Mikinho’ from taking the struggle to the bottom.
As soon as the fourth spherical rolled in, Johnson knew that he had the rhythm and the match beneath his management. ‘Mighty Mouse’ continued to make use of his palms and clocked Moraes with a stinging proper cross to arrange the flying knee that instantly put the match to an in depth.
Johnson walked into the rematch because the challenger for the ONE flyweight world title, and he walked out of the sector with 26.4 kilos of gold draped over his shoulder.