Mixed martial arts veteran Demetrious Johnson will get a shot at redemption when he rematches One flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes at One Fight Night 1: Moraes v Johnson II on Aug 27 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The 12-time MMA world champion was knocked out by the Brazilian superstar in the second round of their match-up last year, making it the only knockout Johnson has suffered in his illustrious career.
Ever a positive presence, Johnson admitted that the previous defeat has taken some of the pressure off him to perform.
That said, he's also a competitor in the truest sense of the word, and he is well aware of what he has to do when he meets with Moraes once again.
"It's another tough [fight]. He's a great athlete. He always comes prepared. He's always in great condition. And then on that day, I'm just going to go out there and fight and see [what happens]," the American said.
"I mean, at the end of the day, I have nothing to lose. I've just lost, damn it. We've both proven so much in the sport of mixed martial arts. For me, my challenge is [that] I haven't beat him yet. So I have a challenge in front of me. I have to go prove I can beat this man."
Since their first meeting in April 2021, Johnson has made significant adjustments to his training.
He believes that his ground game will be the key to success in his upcoming world title tussle, and he has spent much of his time sharpening his skills in that area.
"Training is going great. I already feel like I'm in great shape. I will say the biggest thing is because I joined a jiu-jitsu school. And now I'm training pure jiu-jitsu. Usually, when I'm in not in fight camp, the gym that I trained at is so far away. It's basically an hour and 15 minutes away," Johnson said.
"I found a legit jiu-jitsu gym under a new professor Yan McCane -- a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt for 10 years. [He's an] absolute monster. Very knowledgeable. Now, I've been doing a lot more jiu-jitsu because it's eight minutes from my house and a gold mine for me because it, kind of, breathes life back into my development."