Demetrious Johnson Gets Another Chance To Showcase His Skills

Despite being dealt in one of the first MMA trades in combat sports history, Demetrious Johnson remains on the short list of top pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

“Mighty Mouse” dominated the UFC flyweight division for years before dropping the title in a close decision to Henry Cejudo. Instead of getting a rematch, he was shipped off to ONE Championship for Ben Askren.

Now, Johnson is set to compete in the ONE World Flyweight Grand Prix semifinals this weekend against Tatsumitsu Wada. The bout takes place as part of ONE: Dawn of Heroes from the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.

Johnson earned a victory over Yuya Wakamtasu this past March with a second round guillotine choke submission in his debut for the promotion and the opening round of the GP. The win improved his overall record to 28-3-1, with the finish of Wakamtasu being his 12th career victory via submission over his incredible run in mixed martial arts.

From June 2012 and his win over Ian McCall in the UFC flyweight tournament through October 2017, no one could touch Johnson. He reeled off win after win after win, making 11 successful title defenses to set a new UFC record.

If he is able to add the ONE flyweight grand prix title and eventual ONE flyweight championship to his resume, there will be no doubting Johnson’s standing among the best fighters of all time – regardless of weight.

ONE: Dawn of Heroes will also feature the other semifinal in the grand prix which pits Danny Kingad vs. Reece McLaren. The ONE World Lightweight Grand Prix semifinal between Eddie Alvarez and Eduard Folayang is also set, along with Martin Nguyen defending his ONE featherweight title in the main event vs. Koyomi Matsushima and Jonathan Haggerty putting his ONE Muay Thai flyweight championship up for grabs vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon.