ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson Has One Goal In 2020

Former 12-time UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson had a phenomenal 2019 in his first year at ONE Championship. ‘DJ’ competed in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, winning all three bouts, including a unanimous decision win over Danny Kingad in the final, at ONE: Century.

The legendary American mixed martial artist wants to carry his momentum into the new year and continue his success.

“Looking to 2020, I just want to be successful – whether that’s winning the flyweight belt against Adriano Moraes or anything else,” Johnson stated to ONE Championship.

“I just like to be successful, and for me, that’s always been the biggest thing as an athlete, a businessman, or however people like to look at me. That way, whether it’s in 2021, 2022, or 2023, I’m still being successful, creating buzz, and [watching] my brand get bigger. That’s my biggest goal in 2020.”

Other than being thankful for his triumphant run in the Grand Prix, ‘Mighty Mouse’ is even more grateful for his magnificent physical condition, which allowed him to compete three times in a calendar year for the first time since 2013. And come out unscathed.

“For me, if I wanted to top 2019, it would just be having success and no injuries. As much as I wanted to fight, three fights was a little bit much — but I was able to pull it off.

“I’m not in the business of rushing fights and trying to get as many as possible. Last year, it was because it was a tournament and we needed to bang them out. But this year, it’s a totally different ball game.”

Being able to enjoy and experience the different cultures in Asia, Johnson wishes to give a show to one specific country – Singapore because according to him, it is amazing there.

“I definitely want to compete in Singapore. That’s an amazing place to compete. I’ve been to a couple of shows out there.”

All in all, the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix champion’s full attention is on being successful. And to do that, the 33 year old Johnson understands that his physical well-being is key.

“Right now, I’m focused on getting healthy. It’s all predicated on my body and how I feel. When you’ve been doing this for so long, [you see] a lot of athletes come through and say, ‘I want to be a champion.’ I just want to be successful.

“I’ve been a champion for a very long time. I just won the World Grand Prix. I have not captured the ONE flyweight belt yet, but that’s not the end goal. The end goal is success year after year after year. That’s my focus.”

Demetrious Johnson is set to challenge Adriano Moraes for the ONE flyweight world title in the new year.

Do you think Demetrious Johnson will finish 2020 as the ONE flyweight world champion?


See also:


Tagged: , , ,

Leave comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.