If you want to be a world champion, Demetrious Johnson believes there’s no easier place to do it than in the world of mixed martial arts.
The reigning ONE flyweight world champion is currently taking some time away from the sport to reflect on his future after nearly 20 years of dominance. During the course of his career, Demetrious Johnson has captured both the UFC and ONE flyweight titles while defeating some of the biggest names in the sport. As a result, ‘Mighty Mouse’ is considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest pound-for-pound fighters in the history of the sport.
But that didn’t stop Johnson from kinda-sorta discrediting his own work by suggesting that it was easier to win a world title in MMA than in other sports, specifically boxing.
“That’s the thing about boxing,” Johnson said on TikTok. “Mixed Martial Arts is the easiest sport to become champion in. When you fight boxing, it’s boxing. Every person you fight in boxing is going to be good in boxing… when you fight mixed martial arts, you’re gonna have people who have significant big holes in them, right? You have a guy like Alex Pereira…6-1 and he becomes a champion in mixed martial arts. You can have no wrestling experience and become a world champion. You look at Brock Lesnar, he became a world champion and he had no stand-up experience whatsoever.
“That’s why I feel MMA is the easiest to become a world champion…you can have deficiencies and still become a champion. In boxing, you can’t, you have to be a good boxer to become a world champion, you just have to” (h/t MMA News).
Do you agree with DJ?
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 28, 2023
Demetrious Johnson Has Dominated the Competition in Multiple Organizations
Amassing a record of 25-4 since making his pro MMA debut in 2009, Demetrious Johnson quickly rose to prominence by becoming the first-ever UFC flyweight world champion three years later. He successfully defended the title an astonishing 11 times before finally being bested by Henry Cejudo via a split decision in their UFC 227 rematch.
Following the loss, Demetrious Johnson was part of a first-of-its-kind trade that saw ‘Mighty Mouse’ move over to Asia-based promotion ONE Championship in exchange for former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. Since making his move to ONE, Johnson has curated a 6-1 record and came out on top in a trilogy with ex-titleholder Adriano Moraes. Johnson also made history, competing in the promotion’s first hybrid-rules fight with Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon. DJ defeated ‘The Iron Man’ via a second-round rear-naked choke.