Demetrious Johnson recently competed at the IBJJF Masters World Championships, making his debut appearance as a black belt. Having secured gold at the IBJFF World Championships as a brown belt, the MMA fighter was hoping to secure back-to-back gold medals.
After winning his first three matches, ‘Mighty Mouse’ faced off against Tomoya Yanagisawa in his fourth match of the day. Johnson survived an early armbar attack and appeared to be finding success as he nearly passed his opponent’s guard.
But Yanagisawa proved too slick for ‘Mighty Mouse’ on the day and submitted him in the finals of the master’s black belt division.
Johnson reflected on the result during his YouTube vlog, saying this:
“Definitely did more than I expected I would. I really wanted to just get one win in the division because this is my third tournament. First black belt tournament, and I’m happy. I just made a mistake, I should of forced the takedown but it’s very hard because it’s not about athleticism. It’s more of a strategy.”
Demetrious Johnson argues that Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic will sell the same PPVs without a title
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic were expected to face off at UFC 295 for the heavyweight title. However, several weeks before fight night, ‘Bones’ suffered a torn pectoral muscle, which forced him to withdraw from the bout.
With Miocic not interested in facing anyone else, the promotion scheduled an interim heavyweight title fight between Tom Aspinall and Sergei Pavlovich as the UFC 295 co-main event.
Aspinall secured the belt with a stunning KO in Round 1 and has since gone back and forth with Jones online, hoping to secure a fight with the American. But UFC CEO Dana White has remained steadfast that Jones vs. Miocic will happen, leading to frustration for both the interim champion and fans.
During a recent appearance on the JAXXON Podcast, hosted by Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Demetrious Johnson stated that a Jones-Miocic fight doesn’t need a world title to sell pay-per-views:
“Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic doesn’t need a belt. That’s a legend fight. It would still sell the same amount of pay-per-views, I’m sure Jon Jones still gets the exact same f**king pay whether he’s a champion or not. But I can’t dictate Jon Jones’ career.”
