Demetrious Johnson is gearing up to defend the ONE Flyweight World Championship against Adriano Moraes at ONE Fight Night 10. The main event trilogy bout will be the marquee contest for ONE Championship‘s U.S. debut on Friday, May 5, on Prime Video. In preparation for his first trilogy, Johnson is taking some advice from an old rival.
Demetrious Johnson Details Training with Henry Cejudo Ahead of His Trilogy Bout with Adriano Moraes
In the past couple of years, “Mighty Mouse” has become fast friends with Henry Cejudo. The two elite warriors have shared time competing in the cage, each with a victory, but are now learning from each other — the Washington native credits their similar views on life and fighting for the connection.
“Henry Cejudo and I have a really great relationship. We respect one another as competitors. And we want to see each other do well; we both want to win. We both want to succeed inside and outside the cage with our businesses, YouTube, and creating content. It’s always good to go there to share knowledge,” said Johnson.
In the months leading up to the May 5 bout, Johnson went to Arizona to train alongside Cejudo. Johnson enjoyed mixing it up with “Triple C” at his gym and looked to continue his quest for an edge. However, he was not the only one seeking information. Cejudo has his own match coming up in May, and he was taking advice from one of the all-time greats.
“He asked me, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about Aljamain Sterling? What do you think he’s going to try to do?’ And I give him my thing and how I would approach him beating Aljamain Sterling. Then he does it. He returns the same favor when it comes to Adriano. He was like, ‘Dude, that last fight you did was amazing. If I were Adriano, this is what I would do.’ We just vibe off each other, and we get in the lab and work together. I wish I could spend more time with him. But now we’re both deep in our camps. And we’re focused on ourselves, but we literally just talked two days ago,” said “Mighty Mouse.”
The ONE Flyweight World Champion sees parallels between both men and their upcoming battles. Their lives have similar paths, and they are able to connect on a human level without focusing on the action inside of a caged structure. Now they’ll be able to share a weekend where both men compete for gold.
“It’s great. He’s getting in great shape. He’s a lot lighter this time when we train together, so he was able to do more. We’re both able to do more. And it’s just nice to see us two getting ready. We’re both 36 years old, and we both got kids. We’re on the other side. Aljamain and Adriano- they both don’t have kids. They’re both younger. And it’s just different. We are at that stage in our life where we’re 36 and have kids. Yeah, we’re just both excited to go out there competing at the same time,” said Johnson.
In the build-up to ONE Fight Night 10, Johnson has teased across various media appearances that he is contemplating retirement. As such, there is a need for ONE to continue building new stars. The event in Denver will see a plethora of fresh faces who can break out on one of the year’s biggest events.
And Johnson is there to lend advice to the next generation. Although victories are important, “Mighty Mouse” also talked about the importance of connecting with fans. Fighter personalities will be given a global platform to take advantage of on Prime Video, which should make for a memorable night at the 1stBank Center.
“It’s all about athletes that are out there fighting. For me, competing for 18 years, I’ve been at the pinnacle of the sport for a very long time. And as a world champion, it’s not the fights that get fans; it’s a lot of things. It’s your personality; how do the fans relate to you? I think for me; people just had to go up there and fight and show their personality,” said Johnson.
ONE Fight Night 10 airs live from the 1stBank Center in Colorado. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, May 5, on Prime Video. The event is free for all Amazon Prime members in the U.S. and Canada.
