Sportskeeda picks: ONE Championship’s best MMA fighter of 2023

With another momentous victory on the global stage of ONE Championship, we couldn’t look past 15-time MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson as the organization’s standout performer in the discipline.

The MMA GOAT, as he is more commonly known, arrived in 2023 on the back of two scintillating wins inside the Circle in 2022.

Johnson's mixed rules triumph over Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X showcased his willingness to test himself with the best in the business outside his line of work, while his world title achievement over Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1 proved why he’s already carved his face in the Mount Rushmore of MMA.

Despite that, he arrived in the new year with a renewed vigor, eager to defend his gold at the first time of asking versus Adriano Moraes in a trilogy showdown that headlined ONE Fight Night 10, the promotion’s first venture into North America, this past May.

Throughout the five-round battle, Johnson proved why the MMA world is his oyster, as he dominated his Brazilian foe on the canvas and in the striking department with relative ease.

The ONE Championship megastar rocked the former kingpin on a couple of occasions. But the latter’s hardiness prevented the AMC Pankration and Evolve MMA athlete from securing another highlight-reel win as he did when they met at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in August last year.

By the end of the 25-minute duel, ‘Mighty Mouse’ took home a unanimous decision win, much to the pleasure of the watching world and the sold-out 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, in his first fight back on U.S. soil since signing with ONE Championship.

However, following a successful first world title defense inside the Circle, Johnson might be toying with the idea of hanging up his gloves for good. After such a glorious career at the helm of the sport for nearly two decades though, many are hoping he returns to action in ONE Championship in 2024.

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Demetrious Johnson’s near-perfect run in ONE Championship

Since signing with the world’s largest martial arts organization, ONE Championship, Johnson has enjoyed a just about perfect time on the global stage, bar his defeat to Adriano Moraes at ONE on TNT 1 in April 2021.

The 37-year-old legend earned his spot at the top of the stacked flyweight rankings with wins over Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada, and Danny Kingad to claim the prestigious ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship.

Though he went on to drop his unblemished slate in ONE Championship to Moraes, the Washington native has been on a three-match win streak since, with a pair of victories over ‘Mikinho’ and another in his clash against arguably the finest Muay Thai wizard of this generation, Rodtang Jitmuangnon.