Demetrious Johnson can’t wait for stacked Flyweight Grand Prix to begin.
Johnson—who defended his UFC Flyweight World Title an unrivaled 11 times—got his first taste of the promotion in person on his recent trip to Singapore for ONE: Heart of the Lion and the experience made “Mighty Mouse” even more motivated to make his debut in The Home Of Martial Arts.
“The team was awesome with so much energy,” says the AMC Pankration athlete.
“The production of the show was so cool. I loved the old-school ring entrances with the fireworks and the whole nine yards, Nora the ring announcer is fantastic, and the fans were great!”
Johnson will make his debut in his new home as part of the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix, which will begin on 31 March in Tokyo, Japan at ONE: A New Era.
His first assignment will be to get past Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu in the quarter-finals and set up a bout in the next round against one of the division’s other elite athletes.
With so many potentially exciting match-ups for the American in the bustling weight class, the eight-man tournament has piqued his interest.
“I’m excited for it – it’s going to be a fun time,” says the 32-year-old.
“I cannot wait to see how the brackets work out, and to just get going.
“I’m just hoping I can stay healthy, as I think that will be the most difficult part – competing so often – but I will fight as much as my body will let me.”
The top spot in the flyweight division has been hotly contested in recent times.
Current ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio sits at the top of the pile, and he will defend his World Title against former titleholder Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes in a rubber match in January.
Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov is also vying for another shot, and top contenders like Reece “Lightning” McLaren and Danny “The King” Kingad also have their eyes on the prize.
Johnson is keen to face any of the leading athletes, who each bring different problems to the cage for him to solve.
“This division is stacked, and the best thing is, they’ve all faced each other before, and had wins and losses,” he explains.
