Why Demetrious Johnson vs. Danny Kingad was unexpectedly tough for ‘Mighty Mouse’

Demetrious Johnson will make his return to the circle in the ONE on Prime Video 1 main event on August 26. Meeting him in the cage will be reigning flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes for an eagerly-anticipated rematch of their April 2021 bout.

Before looking ahead to the epic rematch, ONE Championship invited us to take a look back at Johnson’s historic win over Danny Kingad in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix in 2019.

“Ahead of Demetrious Johnson’s highly anticipated ONE Flyweight World Title rematch with Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1 on August 26, relive the MMA icon's ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship Final showdown with Filipino powerhouse Danny Kingad in 2019!”

Catch the full video below:

Upon signing with ONE Championship, Demetrious Johnson made his debut as part of the GP. Scoring wins over Yuya Wakamatsu and Tatsumitsu Wada in the quarter and semi-final rounds, he was met by ‘The King’ in the tournament final at ONE: Century Part 1.

When it was all said and done, Johnson emerged victorious, but it was no walk in the park. Kingad gave Johnson his toughest test at the time under the ONE banner.

Aggressive from the start, ‘The King’ exhibited a striking style very similar to Johnson’s. Utilizing distance and counter-striking, things were quite even on their feet. However, it was a different story on the ground.

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Danny Kingad held his own with Demetrious Johnson on the ground

Danny Kingad showed that he can hang with Demetrious Johnson when it comes to the ground game during their 2019 meeting in the final round of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. ‘Mighty Mouse’ appeared to be in control after taking things to the ground, but a slight mistake gave Kingad the opening he needed to reverse.

Threatening a kimura to defend, Kingad was able to force Johnson into giving up his position. Kingad scrambled to his feet, prompting Johnson to try for a guillotine, giving 'The King' a chance to trip the flyweight great and end up in top position. Kingad was able to hold position, but eventually Johnson managed to explode out, get back to his feet, and complete his own takedown to close out the contest.

On the feet, things were quite even. Unfortunately for Kingad, once they hit the ground, it was the ‘Mighty Mouse’ show. However, Kingad still showed excellent defense and the ability to scramble, even taking down one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world.

He may have lost on the scorecards, but there was plenty for Danny Kingad to be happy about on that night.