Demetrious Johnson on Fighting Hydrated at 135 Pounds

“Mighty Mouse” won’t likely move down anytime soon. In a matter of days, Demetrious Johnson (30-3-1, 3-0 One) will headline the first card of the “One on TNT” series that One Championship has prepared for its debut in the U.S. market. The former Ultimate Fighting Championship 125-pound kingpin will attempt to add another belt to his personal collection as he takes on Adriano Moraes (18-3) with the flyweight championship on the line. In the Singapore-based promotion, the flyweight division covers the weight between 126 and 135 pounds. Talking with Sherdog, “Mighty Mouse” explained that he doesn't plan to cut to 125 again anytime soon.

“I don’t think I can make 125 pounds with One Championship’s hydration rules,” he said. “I couldn’t make it. Would I want to make it? I don’t think so. I’m at that point in my career that I [still] got four or five years left. I’m just here for good times, to still show that I can compete and go out there and put on a great show. I don’t have a lot of fat on me as is, I’m pretty lean all year round, and I won’t blow up to like 155 or 145. I stay around 139, 140, so cutting much weight doesn’t sound fun at all, I don’t know how athletes do it, to be honest with you.”

Even though the One flyweight grand prix winner feels comfortable in the new division, he admits that he gives up height and weight to his recent opponents.

“It’s a bigger body, they’re a lot stronger, and they’re a lot taller,” he added. “In America, when I was fighting guys at 125, there were about 5’3”, 5’4”, maybe you might get a guy who had more than 5’5” like Tim Elliott. But now, fighting at 135, you’re roughly about 5’5” to 5’9” all the time. And they’re a little bit bigger. It just takes a lot more energy from me to deal with them.

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and he now covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @Tudor_leo.