Born in 1986 in Kentucky but growing up in Parkland, Washington, in the United States, Johnson and his siblings were raised singlehandedly by their mother Karen, who despite being deaf, never let her disability hinder her. In fact, her children were never aware of her hearing impairment until later in life due to her determination and can-do attitude.

ONE Championship recently posted a series of images highlighting Johnson’s journey to achieving greatness in martial arts.

 

 

 

 

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“She always taught me to look her in the face when I spoke to her, that way she could read our lips, but I didn’t realize until my sister told me,” Johnson reveals in the past interview with ONE Championship. “[My mom] said, ‘Yes, I’m deaf. Why do you think I’ve always had you beat on the ground when you needed something from another room?’”

While his mother provides a great base of support, as well as his older sister and younger brother, Johnson experienced turbulence in his life in the form of abuse from his stepfather who was in the military. Despite this, he said he does not hold any grudges against him and used the experience to fuel him to greater success.

“I enjoyed my childhood. I didn’t know anything else, that was the life we had,” he said.

“I don’t think bad of my stepfather now, that was his life and the decisions he made, but it gave me lessons now that I am a father myself.”

Karen did her best to raise her children with incredible zeal and provide the best for her family. Paired with her hard work to be a positive example, she left a strong impression on Johnson, who took the lessons Karen taught to heart.

“Mighty Mouse” went on to do the absolute best in his chosen field, which in his case was sports.

“I was always into sports. I started playing football, but then I did track and cross country, but they were mostly for wrestling because the season only lasted so long,” Johnson said. “My mother always believed in me and supported anything I wanted to pursue. She raised her children well — she was a very happy, very kind, very sweet woman.”

The support and lesson in arduous work led the 35-year-old to pursue a career in MMA after discovering the sport when looking for an activity to keep fit. He found an AMC Pankration school where he met Matt Hume, and as soon as they met, they were bonded as student and teacher.

Read Also: 5 elite skills that make Demetrious Johnson the MMA GOAT

Three months later, with his background in wrestling and incredible athleticism, he embarked on his amateur career and earned two wins in the first leg of his martial arts journey. But his journey to the top was not an easy path to take as “Mighty Mouse” had to work a full-time job to make ends meet all through his MMA career until 2011, when he earned a title shot.

“I always worked. I couldn’t see any way of the sport paying the bills every month – the mortgage, the car and everything else. The daily grind was tough, but I just did it,” he explained. “It came to a point where fighting was earning me more than what I was earning in my day job. Matt told me, ‘It’s time’, so I quit and started training full-time from there.”

The decision changed his life. Not only was he able to provide a decent living for himself and his family, but he also became the UFC flyweight champion five years into his pro career. He defended his throne for six years and had an incredible 11-title defense, a record that is incredibly hard to top.

His dominance spilled over into his career in ONE, where he earned a victory in his debut against the tough Yuya Wakamatsu from Japan by guillotine choke. He went on to defeat Tatsumitsu Wada and finally Danny Kingad to become the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion.

Although he failed to earn the World Champion title when he faced Adriano Moraes at ONE on TNT I, his performance against Rodtang Jitmuangnon in their special rules match had given Johnson the needed leverage to earn a second crack at the belt. The GOAT believes that his success is measured by his ability to provide for his family, something he attributes greatly to martial arts.

“[Martial Arts] has been able to give me a life that I could have never imagined,” Johnson said. “I was able to give my wife and kids a life I did not have. And that means the most to me.”

In the meantime, download the ONE Super App to catch all the action at ONE 160: Ok vs. Lee II on Aug. 26 at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

This article was published in collaboration with ONE Championship.