Chalk one up for Demetrious Johnson.
The former UFC world champion, who is generally considered as being the finest flyweight competitor in mixed martial arts history, has kept his MMA appearances to a premium in recent times fighting just three times since late 2019 — each of those coming under the ONE Championship banner against Adriano Moraes (two wins, one loss).
On August 31, Johnson competed as a BJJ black belt for the first time at the IBJJF Master World Championship and in one of those matches against Japanese competitor Takuto Kako, Johnson won by points — and later consoled his crestfallen opponent.
“It’s still good,” Johnson says in the footage, as noted by MMA Fighting.
“There’s next year,” he adds. “This is for fun. Your life’s not going to change. You’re going to go home, keep on training, have a beautiful wife, kids, go back to work. This is for fun. There’s more to life than winning, I promise.”
At the event, Johnson was ultimately eliminated after being submitted by Tomoya Yanagisawa in the quarter final.
See below for Johnson’s match with Kako (19:30), his post-match consolation (26:10) and his loss against Yanagisawa (28:00).
–
