Demetrious Johnson Compares American And Asian Fans
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson was a part of the first ever trade in MMA back in 2018, when he was traded to ONE Championship, with Ben Askren going the opposite way to the UFC.
Respected by most fans and regarded by many as the MMA GOAT, Johnson has made comparisons between the UFC and ONE on many occasions. Most recently, ‘Mighty Mouse’ explained to MMA Mania his thoughts on how ONE Championships market of him and the differences he sees between North American and Asian fight fans.
“At the end of the day, I think I did the best to my ability to go out there and perform and be outspoken about who I am and not change my character. It’s up to the company to find the right niche to market me. I think ONE Championship has done a great job. Obviously, with ONE Championship launching a new e-sports division, me being a big fan of MMA and video games….
“Obviously, the audience is totally different than the North American audience,” he added. “The North American audience wants drama and disrespect. They want somebody to go on Twitter or Instagram [and] yapping back-and-forth with each other. Over in Asia that doesn’t fly. They’re not looking to support punks and people who are bashing each other or cutting fighters down. It’s two different types of entities.”
With all his success in different promotions, Johnson had some advice for up and coming fighters.
“Any athlete who is hoping to become a champion thinking it will take care of them financially has the wrong mindset, to be honest with you,” he stated. “I think the biggest thing I learned from being a professional athlete or a champion is to create multiple streams of income. And obviously, save your money. I think that’s the right mindset to have. Build your brand. And I’m still building my brand. My ‘Mighty Gaming’ streaming brand. I’m about to launch a new product very soon, which is separate to ONE Championship or what I’ve done in America,” Johnson said.
“Athletes need to focus on building their brand,” he continued. “Look at a guy like ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley. He’s building his brand. He’s got great swag, he’s very big on marijuana. He’s like, ‘I’ll light you up and smoke a dooby too.’ Conor McGregor built a brand. Ronda Rousey built a brand. For me, building my brand in the gaming world.”
Since his move to ONE Championship, Demetrious Johnson has had a great run in the promotion, winning all three fights. And in doing do, won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. By beating Danny Kingad in the final at ONE: Century, ‘DJ’ earned a title shot against the ONE flyweight champion, Adriano Moraes.
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