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After cutting weight for most of his mixed martial arts bouts over the years, Demetrious Johnson is enjoying a more relaxed environment at Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments.
After all, it allows the reigning ONE flyweight MMA world champion to compete at whatever weight he's currently at since you weigh in minutes before your match.
'DJ', of course, has been dominating the IBJJF brown belt scene as of late, notching submission victories over opponents twice his size.
Even retired MMA superstar Michael Bisping was in awe of Johnson's latest conquests and asked what he liked the most about gi jiu-jitsu.
Apart from being able to exercise his competitive juices outside of MMA, the 37-year-old icon said he's thriving in BJJ's straightforward approach when it comes to weight classes.
Johnson shared on Bisping's Believe You Me podcast on YouTube:
"Now, being 37 years old, when I do jiu-jitsu, I can either go 141 or can go 154 [pounds]. Huge jump in weight. But the thing about jiu-jitsu, is we do the gi and we do the tournaments is you have to weigh in and they put you in the bullpen. You have to fight like 30 minutes after you weigh in, which I love that."
'Mighty Mouse' continued:
"I'm not cutting down to 141. I'm just not doing that. I'm showing up and I weigh 150 pounds. If you beat me cause you're bigger, congratulations. That's how it is."
Watch Demetrious Johnson's full interview with 'The Count':
Demetrious Johnson loves the unpredictability of BJJ tournaments
A professional MMA fighter since 2009, Demetrious Johnson is used to preparing for one adversary for weeks at a time.
Then again, that's not the case in BJJ competitions, where you grapple against multiple opponents, depending on how large your bracket is.
Turns out, having surprise combatants is a breath of fresh air for 'Mighty Mouse'. He said in the same interview:
"When I’m going to a jiu-jitsu tournament, I have no idea who’s in my bracket. I don’t know what game they’re going to play. Is it De La Riva, is it Lasso, is it Worm, is it Squid Guard? Are they a judo player?"
The MMA GOAT contender continued:
"I was getting all these puzzles in one day, and I loved that excitement. One day that might get extinguished, but until then, I’m gonna keep it running baby.”
