Demetrious Johnson’s legacy in combat sports reached new heights as he clinched the gold medal at the 2023 World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championships, held within the Las Vegas Convention Center on August 31.
Competing in the Master 2 featherweight brown belt division, which featured over 30 skilled participants, Johnson’s dominance shone through as he secured victory in all six matches. Five of these victories came through points, while one was sealed with a remarkable armbar submission.
He was awarded a second stripe on his brown belt right on the winner’s podium. The elation on ‘DJ’s’ face upon receiving this well-deserved piece of recognition was evident to all.
Prior to his participation in the tournament, ‘Mighty Mouse’ attempted to keep a low profile. However, his fame and established reputation in MMA made it impossible for him to fly under the radar. Nevertheless, his recent accomplishment emphasizes that even at the age of 37, Johnson remains dedicated to honing his skills.
A question of sandbagging has also been raised. What is a professional athlete doing competing at Masters 2 level, and at brown belt.
A number of BJJ fans on twitter were a bit taken a back by Johnson competing against BJJ hobbyists.
Competing in Gi BJJ at an advanced age is certainly no easy task but one might wonder if the former UFC champion could’ve aimed higher. There’s also the question of why his professor hasn’t promoted him to black belt yet.
He’s certainly quite adept considering his text book submission of Ray Borg in flyweight title defense a while ago makes it to every highlight reel.
Previously Johnson was quoted saying:
“Last time I done a Jiu-Jitsu tournament was… I was 18 years old.”
“For me the reason why, well my son does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He loves it, he’s gonna be down there competing and he asked me, he goes ‘Dad, why don’t you compete?’ and I was like ‘well, why don’t I?’ I tried to do it under the radar, you know? I signed up, didn’t tell anybody, there was only a couple of people who knew.”
