Demetrious Johnson News

Adam Martin - March 2, 2020

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson says he wouldn’t be sad if the UFC shut down the promotion’s 125lbs weight class. Johnson was the first-ever UFC flyweight champion and was the kingpin of the division from its beginning in 2012 until he lost his belt to Henry Cejudo in the summer of 2018. Just a few months after losing his belt to Cejudo, the UFC decided to trade Johnson to ONE Championship for Ben Askren, and Johnson has been a star for ONE ever since.

Tom Taylor - February 20, 2020

ONE Championship has announced multiple title fights for the upcoming ONE: Infinity 1 and 2 events. The second event will also feature the return of former UFC and Bellator lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez. ONE: Infinity 1 goes down on April 10 in Jakarta, Indonesia. As we already know, the card will feature a flyweight title fight between challenger Demetrious Johnson and champion Adriano Moraes.

Adam Martin - January 12, 2020

Pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson will look to add to his incredible resume when he challenges ONE Championship flyweight titleholder Adriano Moraes. Johnson will take on Moraes for the world title April 11 in China. ONE Championship founder/CEO Chatri Sityodtong broke the news on his Twitter.

Harry Kettle - November 14, 2019

ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson was recently stopped at U.S. Customs as a result of his ONE Flyweight Grand Prix title belt. “Mighty Mouse” kickstarted his run with the Asian promotion earlier this year at ONE Championship: A New Era, and ever since then he has defeated Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada and Danny Kingad en-route to securing the grand prix win.

Cole Shelton - October 27, 2019

On Oct. 27, 2018, the MMA world was shaken up as it was announced the UFC and ONE Championship made a trade. The Las Vegas-based promotion traded longtime flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson, to the Singapore-based promotion for the former welterweight champion, Ben Askren. Right away, fans wondered who came out on top in this trade. The UFC was sending one of the greatest fighters of all time in Johnson for an undefeated Askren who could sell fights with his trash-talk. It seemed like a win-win for both fighters and promotions at the time. But, one year later, is it still a win-win?

Tom Taylor - October 12, 2019

At Saturday’s ONE: Century card, former UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson stepped into the cage with Team Lakay star Danny Kingad in the final of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. Johnson utilized pressure from the get-go, landing multiple takedowns and gluing himself to his opponent on the mat. As the round wore down, he threatened briefly with a kimura. When the tap failed to materialize, he climbed into full mount before a scramble ended the round. While ONE Championship fights are scored in their entirety rather than round-by-round, it was a clear victory for Johnson in the first.

Tom Taylor - October 10, 2019

ONE Championship will soon promote its 100th event. Titled ONE: Century, this landmark event is actually divided into two parts. The first goes down on the morning of Sunday, October 13 in Tokyo (the night of Saturday, October 12 in North America). The second goes down on the night of Sunday, October 13 in Tokyo (the morning of Sunday, October 13 in North America). ONE Championship has stacked these two cards with some of its biggest names. The end result is an event that has fight fans the world over excited — and that includes ONE Championship fighters themselves.

BJPENN.COM Staff - October 7, 2019

Danny “The King” Kingad will meet Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in the Finals of ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix in the biggest event in mixed martial arts history at ONE: Century on October 13 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Teammate and former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio is confident that Kingad is well prepared for the upcoming bout.

Tom Taylor - September 26, 2019

ONE Championship is plotting an expansion into the United States, and Demetrious Johnson is more than willing to be a part of those plans. Johnson, who will have fought twice in Tokyo and once in Manila by year’s end, discussed a potential return to US soil in a recent interview with BJPENN.com. He says he’s particularly interested in fighting in Hawaii, home to ONE Championship stars Christian and Angela Lee, and the perceived frontrunner for ONE’s US debut.

Tom Taylor - September 23, 2019

It’s been a hectic year for Demetrious Johnson. After signing with ONE Championship in late 2018, the former UFC Flyweight Champion has spent the duration of 2019 thus far bushwhacking his way through the perilous ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix.

BJPENN.COM Staff - September 11, 2019

The number of eye-popping matchups scheduled for the two ONE: CENTURY cards in Tokyo on October 13 is staggering. There are multiple world championship matches, and Grand Prix finals spread across a morning and evening events.  The lineup of bouts, in three different sports, and the dual cards as part of ONE’s celebration of 100 events, offers a unique presentation of action for fans. It’s a concept that is fairly unprecedented in combat sports. 

Tom Taylor - August 2, 2019

On Friday, at ONE: Dawn of Heroes, former UFC champs Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez returned to ONE Championship — this time in a ring, not a cage. The former UFC flyweight champ Johnson met former DEEP champ Tatsumitsu Wada in the semifinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. They advanced to this stage by beating Yuya Wakamatsu and Gustavo Balart respectively.

Tom Taylor - July 31, 2019

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is one of the greatest fighters of all time, and one of the toughest puzzles to solve in MMA. Yet Tatsumitsu Wada believes he’s figured out the MMA legend’s weaknesses. Wada will meet Johnson in the semifinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix at ONE: Dawn of Heroes this Friday in Manila, Philippines. He believes his research into the former UFC champ will pay off with a TKO win.

Jordy McElroy - July 16, 2019

The shuttering quake from comatose welterweight star Ben Askren crashing to the canvas in record-breaking time at UFC 239 could be felt from Nevada to Singapore, where former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was shipped off to in a historic trade less than a year ago. Not even the Richter scale is capable of measuring the size of those tremors, which opened up cracks in the reasoning Johnson was ever traded in the first place. That isn’t to suggest Ben Askren in the UFC hasn’t been entertaining. It has been a rollercoaster ride and cotton candy rolled into one. He talks the talk and walks the walk against the toughest guys in the UFC; guys that boast the kind of knockout power to alter careers with a single strike.

Tom Taylor - July 1, 2019

For a time, there was much discussion about a potential flyweight title super fight between TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson, then the UFC bantamweight and flyweight champions respectively. At the time of these discussions, Johnson expressed some doubt that TJ Dillashaw would be able to make the 125-pound limit for their potential flyweight title fight. Dillashaw later made 125 pounds for a January title fight with Henry Cejudo, but subsequently tested positive for EPO, and named his tough weight cut as one of the reasons he turned to this substance.

Tom Taylor - June 10, 2019

The next ONE Championship appearances of former UFC champs Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson are now official. Both men are set to return on August 2 at ONE: Dawn of Heroes in Manila, Philippines. Eddie Alvarez will make his return against two-time ONE lightweight champion Eduard Folayang. This booking, which looks like a 2019 Fight of the Year contender on paper, will mark Alvarez’s opportunity to rebound from a failed ONE debut opposite Timofey Nastyukhin, and Folayang’s chance to rebound from a title loss to Shinya Aoki.

Tom Taylor - May 29, 2019

Singapore-based martial arts organization ONE Championship has recently signed a host of high profile free agents, most notably Demetrious Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt. Among Western fans, many of whom grew familiar with these fighters during their time in the UFC, the widespread expectation was that all three would all be extremely successful in ONE. This has not been the case.

Tom Taylor - May 27, 2019

Demetrious Johnson has already cemented himself one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, but he’s not ready to rest on his laurels. After a record-setting reign as the UFC flyweight champion, he is now zeroing in on a new title in ONE Championship. Johnson’s road to ONE Championship gold leads through the perilous ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. The former UFC champion has already advanced to the tournament’s second round, having submitted Yuya Wakamatsu in Tokyo in March, and he’s now looking ahead to a yet unscheduled semifinal showdown with former DEEP flyweight champion Tatsumitsu Wada.