“Go Out on My Shield” – Fear of ‘10% Gone’ Made 36-Year-Old Demetrious Johnson Do the Unthinkable

Demetrious Johnson will rematch Adriano Moraes for the flyweight championship at ONE on Prime Video 1. ‘Mighty Mouse’ will challenge for the championship after suffering the first KO loss of his career in their initial bout. The MMA G.O.A.T., though, came back to the winning column with a triumph over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a mixed rules bout at ONE X.

The contest against the Muay Thai world champion was unique. Most expected Johnson to stay outside and not engage with the ruthless Thai champion during the first round (Muay Thai). However, ‘DJ’ didn’t stall the round and went toe-to-toe with Jitmuangnon. And recently he revealed the reason for it.

In an interview with MMAFighting, the 12-time MMA world champion said, “The game plan was like, you know, just stick and move the first round, right? And try to avoid conflict like a fight.”

“… I don’t want to get yellow carded, right? I don’t; When they start doing a yellow card that’s 10% gone, right? … If I were to go out on my shield to keep my extra 10% and get knocked out, then ‘oh, I didn’t get knocked out, I got to keep my 10%.'”

Demetrious Johnson, after having a tough 30 seconds, where the Muay Thai flyweight champion immensely pressured him, found his groove and landed some shots of his own. And to his surprise, the fans loved his approach.

Fans’ reception after the Rodtang Jitmuangnon contest confused Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson is a methodical fighter and looks for openings during the bout. The MMA G.O.A.T. fights a smart fight. However, his approach to the mixed rules bout was different and so were the fans’ reactions.

The American athlete said, “I went heads with him; I banged and then in the second round, I just walked forward and got him into a submission choke. Like, my stock rose so much that it was like okay, people just want to see me fight. They don’t care if I win or lose. They just want to see me fight. So, now that I have that on my heart.”

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“For this fight [against Moraes] is like I’m gonna go out there; I’m gonna push the pace, I’m gonna get in his face,” said Johnson. “I’m gonna do everything I can to try to win this fight. If I get knocked out again, so be it.”

The Flyweight championship rematch (Moraes vs. Johnson II) will headline the inaugural ONE on Prime Video 1 card.

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What do you make of Demetrious Johnson’s words? Share your views in the comments section.