A Word About My Time With Demetrious Johnson And the Birth of a Story

The Best MMA Flyweight to Ever Do It

I wrote one of my favorite stories in one of my least favorite places¹, a full weekend in the suburbs of Seattle, Washington. Forty eight hours with the most skilled mixed martial artists of all-time.

I’d been chasing a story about Demetrious Johnson for years without success. When Bleacher Report named him “Fighter of the Year” in 2017, my vote, I have to admit, was cast in the hopes of scoring a full-on profile.

It didn’t happen.

I was, frankly, mildly obsessed. Sure, it was in large part because I didn’t like being told no. But it also felt like a missed connection, a small hole in the tapestry of MMA history I’d spent a decade of my life constructing. After all, there was only one “Mighty Mouse”, a 5-foot-three-inch dynamo with every possible skillset you’d want to see in a fighter. I’d talked to every great fighter who ever step into the UFC Octagon or PRIDE ring, from Fedor Emelianenko to Georges St. Pierre. I’d talked to a lot of not-so-great fighters too.

But I’d never had he chance to really get inside the head of the flyweight prince.

Eventually, in perhaps the only “corporate synergy” to ever work out in my favor, Bleacher Report and Turner Sports became business partners with ONE FC, Johnson’s new promotional home. He’d been “traded” from the UFC (at his request) to finish his career in a different environment, discarded like he wasn’t one of the top prize fighters of a generation. It turned out great for him—but even better for me, at least in the short run. I finagled my way onto the team going to Johnson’s house to film a television segment for his big debut.

It was finally happening!

When I arrived, it was all I could have hoped. I met his family, including wife Destiny, two rambunctious young boys and brand new baby. They cooked us breakfast! We played video games! We went to the pool! Honestly, the only thing separating this from a vacation was a trip to Matt Hume’s gym to watch him train with one of my all-time favorites, Bibiano Fernandes² and gawk at the lucha libre masks on the wall.

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I don’t know if it was a great story (you can judge for yourself) but it was a fulfilling experience. When you’re in the content game, treading water and just trying to stay alive, that is quite often enough. A free trip out west? A ton of money? A chance to see how a TV vignette is filmed? Yes to all of that please.

The Johnsons making breakfast

I got the chance to ask DJ some questions without the cameras running as we washed the dishes after some freshly made omelets. He seemed bemused by the fact I was so keen to talk about his incredible, super-human takedown-turned-submission against Ray Borg. To him it was just a thing he did for work (“we had drilled it a lot, and when I got the chance I just did it. It wasn’t all that hard.”) He was much more interested in talking about my old school gamer days dominating³ Warcraft and Command and Conquer.

Sometimes you write a story and thank your God that the person you’ve just glossed up for the public isn’t actually part of your life. Other times, like this one, you leave a little sad, convinced you might have been friends in another life. The Johnson family was just…classy. Not a word I’ve used a lot in my time writing about MMA, but one that just feels right.

Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement over the weekend, leaving behind a legacy that can never be erased—not matter how hard certain promoters may try. He had a career to be proud of and he can finally relax after 15 years in the professional trenches. His greatest hits (inaugural UFC flyweight champion, 11 consecutive title defenses, ONE flyweight champion) are punctuated by two of the greatest finishes in the sport’s short history—the submission over Borg that still defies belief and the absolutely bonkers flying knee finish against Adriano Moraes that appeared to be ripped directly out of a Matrix sequel. If anyone has earned a respite from the wear and tear of the fight game, it’s Johnson.

"After I'm done fighting, I ain't working," he told me in 2019. "I'm waking my ass up and doing whatever I want to do. That's my goal. I've been working since I was 15-and-a-half years old. When I'm finally done pushing my heart and pushing my body to the limit, I'm done. I'll still pursue my passions, but I'm not going to be clocking in.”

God speed DJ. You were the best.

Jonathan Snowden is a long-time combat sports journalist. His books include Total MMA, Shooters and Shamrock: The World’s Most Dangerous Man. His work has appeared in USA Today, Bleacher Report, Fox Sports and The Ringer. Subscribe to this newsletter to keep up with his latest work.

1. Nothing against Seattle. But my sister died there last year and the place will always be haunted, any happy memory shattered beyond recognition.

2. He shoulder bumped me here after I got comfortable enough to talk a little gentle shit and I stumbled about three feet. Never forget—a flyweight may be 125 pounds, but it’s 125 pounds of concentrated muscle. Like a tiny bowling ball.

3. Being told I was actually not very good at these games. No one can prove it though.