“Find a way to deal with a variety of ranges” – Demetrious Johnson explains why distance management is truly important

When it comes to the best minds in MMA, reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson will always be a fountain of knowledge.

There’s no denying that ‘Mighty Mouse’ is an incredible athlete, but what has made him one of the best fighters in the world for such a long time is his mind.

You’d be hard pressed to find someone with better fight IQ and that’s on show each time that the 15-time world champion steps inside the circle. One of the best attributes of his game is his distance management, which allows him to dictate fights against the highest level of opposition.

During a recent YouTube video where he took questions from the fans, Demetrious Johnson spoke about the importance of knowing how to deal with different ranges inside the circle:

“Honestly, distance. Doesn't matter if they're smaller, shorter, faster. It's like what Conor [McGregor] said, distance and timing beats pretty much everything else. So I think you have to work on that, once you worked on that, it'll be far greater. Find a way to deal with a variety of ranges.”

Watch the full video below:

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Demetrious Johnson showcased his range management to perfection vs. Moraes

A huge reason why Demetrious Johnson produced such an iconic trilogy against Adriano Moraes was the clear size differential between the two elite competitors.

The range and power of Moraes was a big problem for ‘Mighty Mouse’ the first time they met, when the Brazilian became the first man to stop Johnson.

In their following two encounters, DJ showed his incredible ability to learn, adapt, and overcome in the ways he manipulated the range and distance between them.

In their third and final fight, he eliminated the potential of getting caught by a big shot by always controlling the range and utilizing his incredible clinch game to stifle his opponent at every single turn.