Demetrious Khrisna Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion (125 lbs) with a record of 11 consecutive title defenses. Johnson most recently competed in ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Flyweight Champion (135 lb), and was the 2019 ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion. He holds the record for most consecutive wins in UFC flyweight history with 13. Johnson is widely regarded as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time.
ESPN, MMA Weekly, and various UFC personnel have called Johnson one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world. Johnson has been referred to by many as ‘the greatest Flyweight (125 pound) Mixed Martial Arts fighter of all time’ with a record of 25 wins and 4 losses in professional MMA, and 36 wins and 4 losses including amateur and mixed rules bouts. At 125 pounds he only ever lost a single bout, a controversial split decision to Henry Cejudo, whom he knocked out in their other bout. He also held titles and notable ranked wins at 135 pounds, though also picked up 3 losses in that division.
On March 28, 2026, Johnson and family were in attendance for UFC Fight Night 271 as he was announced to join the Modern Wing of UFC Hall of Fame.
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Early years
Born in Kentucky, Johnson grew up in Parkland, Washington, where he attended Washington High School and was a stand-out athlete in wrestling, track, and cross country. In 2004, Johnson's junior year of high school he qualified for the state wrestling tournament placing 2nd at 119lbs. In 2005, Johnson's senior year of high school he qualified for the state wrestling tournament placing 3rd at 119lbs. Although he only participated in track and cross country to improve his cardio for wrestling, he competed at the state championships in both of those sports as well. Johnson did receive scholarship offers for wrestling, but did not want to leave his family behind. Ultimately, he did not take up any scholarship offers and instead attended Pierce College for two years while working on the side.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Johnson originally began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) as a hobby, continuing for two years before being invited to AMC Pankration, where he would meet MMA pioneer Matt Hume, who had been scouting Johnson and organized the event where Johnson made his MMA debut. He began his career in MMA as an amateur in 2006, winning via first-round knockout. Johnson then appeared on multiple local shows and won his next 8 fights, including five in a row by submission, for a final amateur record of 9–0.
After winning his professional debut, Johnson fought at the Alaska Fighting Championships in Anchorage and won via head kick KO, which earned him a deal with the WEC.
World Extreme Cagefighting
He made his World Extreme Cagefighting debut at bantamweight against Brad Pickett on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48 in Sacramento, California. Johnson showed good kickboxing throughout but was unable to defend the many takedowns executed by Pickett. Johnson lost via unanimous decision. Joe Rogan predicted during the fight that, should the WEC implement a flyweight division, Johnson would be highly effective, as he was a relatively small bantamweight.
Johnson was expected to face Clint Godfrey on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51. However, Godfrey was forced off the card and replaced by WEC newcomer Nick Pace. Johnson defeated Pace via unanimous decision, handing Pace his first MMA loss.
Johnson defeated Damacio Page via third-round submission on November 11, 2010, at WEC 52. After Page controlled the action in the first round, Johnson was able to dictate the action for most of the second and third rounds before submitting Page via guillotine choke. Johnson later said, "He was basically drowning, and I was the shark that came up and got him from underneath."
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Johnson faced Japanese fighter Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126 in his UFC debut, Johnson won via unanimous decision.
Johnson was scheduled to face Renan Barão on May 28, 2011, at UFC 130. However, Johnson faced Miguel Torres after Torres's opponent, Brad Pickett, was forced off the card with an injury. Despite breaking his fibula early in the second round from a checked leg kick, Johnson used his superior wrestling to control Torres and won a 29–28 unanimous decision victory, even though he was swept into full mount a record-breaking 6 times during the fight.
Johnson fought Dominick Cruz on October 1, 2011, at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson for the UFC bantamweight title, losing by unanimous decision. Johnson was briefly linked to a bout with Eddie Wineland on January 28, 2012, at the UFC's second event on Fox. However, Johnson was pulled from the bout to take part in a four-man flyweight tournament to determine the UFC's first UFC Flyweight Champion.
Johnson faced Ian McCall on March 3, 2012, in the first round of the Flyweight Tournament at UFC on FX 2. This fight was the first flyweight bout in UFC history. The fight with McCall was announced as a majority decision win for Johnson. Later, in the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White announced that the athletic commission made a mistake when scoring the match and that officially the bout was scored a majority draw (28–28, 29–29, and 29–28 Johnson). A rematch with McCall took place on June 8, 2012, at UFC on FX: Johnson vs. McCall. Johnson won the fight via unanimous decision to progress to the final round of the tournament.
Johnson faced Joseph Benavidez in the finals of the UFC Flyweight Tournament on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152. Johnson defeated Benavidez via split decision to become the inaugural UFC Flyweight Champion.
Johnson fought John Dodson on January 26, 2013, at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson. Johnson won the fight via unanimous decision in a bout that earned both participants Fight of the Night honors.
ONE Championship
On October 27, 2018, Johnson was traded to ONE Championship for former ONE Welterweight Champion Ben Askren. Johnson was expected to make his promotional debut in the first quarter of 2019.
On November 7, 2018, it was announced that Johnson would be one of eight participants in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. On December 19, 2018, it was announced that Johnson will be facing Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE Championship: A New Era on March 31, 2019, in the promotion's inaugural event in Japan.
In his ONE Championship debut, Johnson defeated Yuya Wakamatsu via a guillotine choke submission in the second round.
Johnson's second ONE Championship fight took place at ONE Championship: Dawn of Heroes on August 2, 2019. He faced Tatsumitsu Wada in the semi-finals of the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix and won the fight by unanimous decision to advance to the finals.
Johnson then faced Danny Kingad at ONE Championship: Century in the finals of the ONE Championship Flyweight Grand-Prix on October 12, 2019. He defeated Kingad in a dominant unanimous decision victory and became the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion.
After claiming the Grand Prix victory, Johnson was set to challenge ONE Flyweight Champion Adriano Moraes at Infinity 1. The fight was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson faced Moraes at ONE on TNT 1 on April 7, 2021. The event was held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore and was broadcast on TNT during US prime time. He lost the bout via KO in round two by a knee and punches.
On September 15, 2021, it was announced that Johnson would fight Rodtang Jitmuangnon, the reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion and considered by many to be the current best pound-for-pound Muay Thai fighter. The fight was contested under special rules, with rounds 1 and 3 being fought under the ONE Muay Thai ruleset, and rounds 2 and 4 being fought under the ONE MMA ruleset. However, due to the pandemic shutdowns, the event was rescheduled for ONE: X on March 26, 2022. Johnson won the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the second round.
Grappling career
Johnson entered the IBJJF Master World Championship on August 31, 2023, to compete in the brown belt Master 2 featherweight (154 pound) division. Johnson defeated 6 opponents and won a gold medal at the event.
Johnson then competed at the IBJJF Pan Championship 2024 on March 22–25, 2024, winning a gold medal in the brown belt Master 2 featherweight division and a silver medal in the brown belt Master 2 absolute division.
Johnson competed for the first time as a black belt in the IBJJF Master World Championship on August 30, 2024, in the black belt Master 2 featherweight division. He won his first three matches and made it to the quarter-final before being submitted for the first time in jiu-jitsu competition. He returned to compete in the same division of the IBJJF Pan Championship 2025, losing on points in the opening round.
Fighting style
UFC commentator Joe Rogan, ESPN.com, and other media outlets have called Johnson the greatest mixed martial artist in the world. Known as one of the fastest fighters in MMA, Johnson's martial arts background is in wrestling, which he uses effectively to control where the fight takes place and land numerous takedowns in a single match when necessary. In addition to his wrestling base, Johnson is also recognized for quick striking and elusive movement. He is noted for his ability to land fast punches and kicks to the head or body, then quickly escape an opponent's reach. He is also known for his ability to counterstrike while standing within the pocket. During upperbody clinches, Johnson has also utilized the Muay Thai plum while mixing in a series of elbows and knees. To complement his traditional wrestling base, Johnson is also schooled in catch wrestling under his long-time coach Matt Hume, as evident by his catch-style direct suplex-to-armlock transition against Ray Borg, and his double wrist lock submission (aka Kimura) of Chris Cariaso.
Johnson is known for cross-training and visiting other athletes to learn different techniques, like ADCC veteran and fellow ONE Championship fighter Garry Tonon.
Personal life
Johnson had a harsh childhood; he was raised by his deaf mother and an abusive stepfather, and his sister attempted suicide when he was a teenager. Johnson met his biological father for the first time in 2017, and they have since developed a great relationship. The main thing that has helped him move on from his past is his wife, Destiny Johnson. He says "she is the best thing that has ever happened to me and without her, life would be incomplete." They were wed May 11, 2012, in Hawaii. They have two sons: Tyron, born in 2013, and Maverick Allen, born April 15, 2015, and a daughter named Tanith Lea, born August 2018.
Johnson is an avid gamer and streams via YouTube under the username Mighty, and via Twitch under the username MightyGaming.
On a podcast in February 2025, Johnson revealed that his sister is lesbian and that his brother is gay.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
ONE Championship
ONE Hall of Fame (inaugural inductee, 2024)
ONE Flyweight Championship (One time, former)
One successful title defense
2019 ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Champion
Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Adriano Moraes
2022 MMA Knockout of the Year vs. Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Hall of Fame (Modern Wing, Class of 2026)
UFC Flyweight Championship (One time, inaugural)
Eleven successful title defenses
Most consecutive title defenses in UFC history (11)
Most consecutive title defenses in UFC flyweight division history (11)
Second most successful title defenses in UFC history (11) (behind Jon Jones)
Longest title reign in UFC Flyweight division history (2142 days)
Most wins in UFC flyweight title fights (12)
Third most wins in UFC title fights (12)
Most UFC flyweight title fights (13)