If Demetrious Johnson didn’t learn from his mistakes, he wouldn’t be who many consider to be the greatest flyweight fighter of all time, says former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
Franklin, who currently serves as vice president of ONE Championship, recently weighed in on the upcoming title rematch between Johnson (23-4-1) and Adrian Moraes (20-3). The first meeting saw Moraes become the first man to finish Johnson when he did so with a violent combination and ground-and-pound.
Their rematch headlines ONE on Prime Video 1, which takes place Friday, Aug. 26 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore and streams on Prime Video.
In the short term, a loss is never good. Luckily for him, Johnson has only done so four times in his career. In the long term, however, Franklin thinks for a fighter of the caliber of Johnson, the loss will likely lead to improvement.
“As a fighter ages, one thing that you gain is experience and knowledge as you get older,” Franklin told MMA Junkie Radio. “At this stage of Demetrious’ career, and I say this tongue and cheek because I know DJ, at this stage of his career if he hasn’t learned how to deal properly with a loss and utilize what useful information that you can from that loss and discard the rest and move on, then I don’t think he’d be in the position that he’s in having as many title defenses and the accolades and everything he’s accomplished in his career.
“You have to get to a point where you can take the loss and move on with something like that. I do believe he’s coming to come into this fight with a clean slate sort of speak and perform at a top level where he’s not afraid to pull the trigger, sort of speak.”
As he added to his estimation of an improved “Mighty Mouse,” Franklin also speculated the fight will have a similar vibe to what the first did, prior to the finish. Moraes can’t get overconfident and bask in the flashback familiarity of victory – or he’ll pay the price, added Franklin.
“The first round is going to feel like an extra round,” Franklin said. “Adriano, his body type and fighting style, is a difficult matchup for Demetrious. Both of these guys know what the other is capable of. Adriano, he obviously shocked the world last time. To walk into the circle with the kind of confidence and swagger that, ‘I’m going to repeat, or take control of this match,’ Demetrious is not the kind of guy you want to do that with. He’s a strategist. He’s going to come in with a new game plan, so I think there will be a feeling-out process for the first round.
“… I think his key to victory in this if he’s going to win the match is to play with ranges and keep Adriano guessing. Adriano is so tall and long with those arms with good striking. With that height disadvantage Demetrious has, he’s going to have to play with his ranges and get to the inside.
Johnson has competed once since the loss, in a special hybrid rules match against muay thai superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The first and third rounds were scheduled as muay thai, and the second and fourth rounds were scheduled as MMA. Johnson submitted Jitmuangnon in Round 2 with a rear-naked choke. Meanwhile, Moraes has also only competed once since their first meeting. He successfully defended his title when he submitted Yuya Wakamatsu in March.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for ONE on Prime Video 1.
