Demetrious Johnson News

Tom Taylor - November 7, 2018

At a Wednesday afternoon press conference in Singapore, ONE Championship announced plans for a Flyweight Grand Prix. This intriguing flyweight tournament is expected to feature stars such as reigning ONE flyweight champ Geje Eustaquio, former champions Adriano Moraes and Kairat Akhmetov, rising contender Danny Kingad, and of course, new ONE Championship athlete Demetrious Johnson. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp3qsDKhUCi/

BJPENN.COM Staff - November 1, 2018

Both Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson, former UFC champions, announced that they have joined ONE Championship within two weeks of each other. The news obviously ran up many headlines. The Johnson for Ben Askren trade in particular was the biggest acquisition in history for the Asia-based promotion. Alvarez, 34, has won world championships in the biggest mixed martial arts promotions in the world, and has made it clear that he’s intent on capturing a third major title.

Tom Taylor - October 31, 2018

After defending the UFC flyweight title a record-breaking 11-straight times, Demetrious Johnson absolutely deserved an immediate rematch with Henry Cejudo, who ended his title reign with a split decision victory at UFC 227 in August. Instead of pursuing this rematch, however, Demetrious Johnson and his team negotiated a move to Singapore’s ONE Championship.

Tom Taylor - October 30, 2018

After a lengthy and history-making stint in the UFC, former UFC flyweight champion and pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson is headed to ONE Championship. Johnson is expected to debut with the Singapore-based martial arts powerhouse in early 2019. Despite his massive accomplishments in the UFC, however, he does not expect an immediate title shot against ONE flyweight champion Geje Eustaquio. Instead, he’s expecting to fight another top ONE flyweight such as Kairat Akhmetov or Danny Kingad.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

As you’ve probably heard, it’s now official. Former UFC flyweight champion and bona fide MMA legend Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship athlete. That’s thanks to a history-making trade between ONE and the UFC that saw the UFC cough up Johnson in exchange for ONE’s former welterweight champion Ben Askren. Speaking on a media conference call on Sunday, an elated Demetrious Johnson explained how this out-of-left-field trade came to fruition.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is now a ONE Championship athlete. That means that he can look forward to MMA bouts with top ONE Championship flyweights such as Geje Eustaquio, Adriano Moraes, Kairat Akhmetov and Danny Kingad, and perhaps even scraps with top ONE bantamweights down the road. Of course, that is not where Demetrious Johnson’s options as a ONE Championship athlete end.

Tom Taylor - October 29, 2018

These days, it seems like trash talk is part of the buildup to almost every major UFC fight. Pre-fight press conferences, media conference calls and interviews are increasingly filled with virulent mudslinging, while incidents like Conor McGregor‘s infamous bus rampage and the UFC 229 post-fight brawl seem to be making headlines with greater frequency. For fighters who aren’t fond of this kind of drama, this can be a little problematic.

Christopher Taylor - October 28, 2018

Demetrious Johnson joined ONE Championship this weekend as part of a historic trade which sent undefeated welterweight Ben Askren to the UFC. The former UFC flyweight kingpin, Johnson (27-3-1 MMA), officially announced that he had joined the Asian-based promotion earlier this evening on Twitter.

Chris Taylor - October 27, 2018

It is officially a done deal! Former ONE Champion and Bellator welterweight title holder Ben Askren has joined the UFC roster. A historic trade involving ONE Championship sending Ben Askren to the UFC in exchange for former flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson was confirmed by ESPN’s Ariel Helwani.

Chris Taylor - October 26, 2018

Ben Askren is currently in the process of being traded from ONE Championship to the UFC in exchange for former flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson. The historic trade, which is expected to be finalized very soon, could have a significant impact on the sport and its athletes moving forward.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2018

If former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson does indeed migrate to ONE Championship as expected, he’ll receive a warm welcome from two familiar faces. His long-time head coach Matt Hume is ONE Championship’s Vice President of Operations, while Bibiano Fernandes, arguably the most crucial training partner of his illustrious career, is the promotion’s reigning bantamweight champion. Bibiano Fernandes, who has become one of ONE Championship’s biggest stars, believes that Demetrious Johnson would be a perfect fit for the promotion. ONE, Fernandes reminds, places far more value on performances than it does on things like trash talk and showmanship.

Christopher Taylor - October 25, 2018

Current ONE Championship bantamweight kingpin Bibiano Fernandes and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson are longtime friends and training partners. With that said, it is unlikely fight fans will ever see “The Flash” and “Mighty Mouse” throw down inside the ONE Championship cage.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN reported that the UFC and Singapore’s ONE Championship are closing in on a history-making fighter trade. This potential trade, which is still not official, would see ONE Championship send its former welterweight champion Ben Askren to the UFC, and the UFC send its former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to the Singapore-based promotion. If this trade comes to fruition, the ramifications would be massive and far-reaching. It could conceivably usher in an unprecedented era of fighter trades — not just the kind of -talent-sharing that Bellator has done with Rizin and BAMMA, but legitimate promotion-to-promotion trading. This trade could also signal the end of the long-struggling UFC men’s flyweight division, as it’s hard to believe the UFC would part ways with Johnson — still widely considered the division’s best fighter — if it had any intention of keeping the division around.

Tom Taylor - October 24, 2018

ONE Championship and the UFC are close to finalizing a history-making fighter trade, per ESPN. This potential trade would see the UFC send former flyweight champion and pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson to the Singapore-based promotion in exchange for former ONE and Bellator welterweight champion Ben Askren. While this trade is reportedly on the table, it is not official yet.

Drake Riggs - August 28, 2018

Despite having come up short in his most recent attempted title defense, there is no question that Demetrious Johnson is one of the all-time greats. Even in his rematch with Henry Cejudo at UFC 227, it wasn’t as if the mighty one was blown out of the water in his split decision loss.

Tom Taylor - August 17, 2018

At UFC 227, TJ Dillashaw defended the UFC bantamweight title with a first-round drubbing of his rival Cody Garbrandt. Earlier on the same night, Henry Cejudo scored a shocking upset, unseating long-dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson via split decision. Since then, there’s been much discussion about a potential superfight between the two champions. If this fight were to occur, of course, it would seem like a bit of a slap in the face to Johnson. He was the most dominant champion in UFC history, he lost the title via split decision, and he holds a 2016 knockout win over Cejudo. He deserves an immediate rematch with Cejudo.

Jordy McElroy - August 6, 2018

For the first time in UFC history, a name other than Demetrious Johnson will be attached to the flyweight title. Henry Cejudo, the former Olympic gold medalist wrestler, did something historic at UFC 227 in dethroning the pound-for-pound king. Yet when the smoke cleared, all anyone could talk about was what’s next for Cejudo rather than what’s to become of Johnson. An iconic feat came crashing back down to Earth in the form of Johnson’s 11 consecutive title defenses, and it was about as emotional as someone losing a balloon in the air.

Tom Taylor - August 5, 2018

Last night, in the co-main event of UFC 227, one of MMA’s most legendary title reigns came to a shocking halt, as UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson lost a razor-close decision to Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo. While some former champions have a difficult time accepting defeat and returning to the contendership race, Johnson has been nothing but classy in the hours since he lost his title.