Demetrious Johnson has the utmost respect for fellow family man Henry Cejudo

Demetrious Johnson isn’t just one of the greatest mixed martial artists to have ever lived, he’s also one of the classiest acts the sport has ever seen.

While it’s not uncommon for fierce competitors to become respectful towards each other, the friendship between Johnson and former rival Henry Cejudo is such a wholesome respite from the ultra-aggressive nature of MMA.

Johnson and Cejudo don’t just shake hands and laugh with each other at public appearances, the two are genuine buddies who even spend time with each other’s families during lengthy breaks in their busy schedules.

In an interview with British Muay Thai star Liam Harrison, Demetrious Johnson said there’s no needling between him and Cejudo whenever they go sparring with each other.

‘Mighty Mouse’ added that both he and Cejudo are in the fight game so that they can be the best providers for their respective families.

Johnson said:

“And when we spar, it’s not like there’s a little needle like ‘I wanna one up you,’ you know honestly not really because we respect each other so well, and we know that we’re both in this business to make money. We both wanna see each other succeed. He’s got a daughter, I got three kids and we’re like, ‘man if we had all the money in the world we wouldn’t be fighting.’”

Johnson and Cejudo were 1-1 during their days in the UFC but are now training partners whenever the ONE flyweight world champion makes his way to Arizona.

Cejudo even helped Demetrious Johnson in his rematch against Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1 last year.

Now that Johnson’s heading into his trilogy bout with Moraes, he once again linked up with Cejudo a couple of months ago to fully prepare for his defense of the ONE flyweight world title.

Demetrious Johnson will try to close his rivalry with Adriano Moraes in the main event of ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on May 5 at 1stBank Center in Colorado. The entire card will be streamed live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.