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Demetrious Johnson focused on BJJ training in preparation for Adriano Moraes
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Demetrious Johnson (ONE Championship)
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a href="https://www.onefc.com/athletes/demetrious-johnson/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Demetrious Johnson is well-adept when it comes to wrestling. But the MMA icon is taking no chances ahead of his much-anticipated rematch with ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes at ONE Fight Night 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on Aug. 27.
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt has been honing his ground game in preparation for the world title tussle. And luckily for him, the training has been a convenient adjustment.
“I found a legit jiu-jitsu gym under a new professor Yan McCane – a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt for ten years. [He’s an] absolute monster. Very knowledgeable. Now I’ve been doing a lot more jiu-jitsu because it’s eight minutes from my house and a gold mine for me because it, kind of, breathes life back into my development,” Johnson said.
“Mighty Mouse” is widely regarded as the mixed martial arts GOAT, but he was stopped in his tracks when he came up against “Mikinho” last April. The Brazilian superstar finished him with a knee to the head, handing the American veteran the first knockout of his illustrious career.
Johnson knows he has something to prove at ONE Fight Night 1 – the first event to air in United States primetime under the promotion’s deal with Prime Video – but ultimately, he is focused on putting on a performance worthy of his skill set.
“As I said, I’m working my ground game, working on my standup. I’m making sure when I step in the Circle on [Aug. 27] in Singapore, I’m the best version of myself," he said.
“That’s what I’m always striving for. I’m always striving for perfection, and I just hope that I go out there and execute and not make any mistakes."
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Moraes’ reputation speaks for itself. The seven-time ONE Flyweight World Champion is coming off back-to-back victories, and he’ll be looking to go 2-0 against “Mighty Mouse” to make his own claim as the greatest to ever do it.
But Johnson has been around too long to be intimidated by stats and records. He knows what he has to work on, and he feels he is doing enough to be ready for what lies ahead.
“Training is going great. I already feel like I’m in great shape. I will say the biggest thing is because I joined a jiu-jitsu school. And now I’m training pure jiu-jitsu,” he said.
Tickets for ONE Championship’s August events can be purchased here.
In the meantime, watch ONE 159: De Ridder vs. Bigdash live on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, or MAXstream beginning with the lead card at 5:30 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Friday, July 22.
The main card broadcasts live on NETVERSE, Vidio.com, Kaskus TV, and MAXstream at 7:30 p.m. WIB.
Also, NET TV will air a same-day delay at 10:30 p.m. WIB.
This article is published in collaboration with ONE Championship.
