ONE Championship

Destiny Johnson was upstairs on a rocking chair when she heard the two words that would change her life forever. Family friends were over at the house watching her husband, future Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, defend his flyweight championship against former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in Los Angeles. Thirty-eight weeks pregnant, she had been afraid to tune in, in case the excitement of it all made her water break while her husband was more than 1,100 miles away from home and just a little bit busy.

But she couldn't help cheat, at least a little, catching snippets of the commentary as Johnson attempted to add to his record of 11 consecutive title defenses. When the fight was over and ring announcer Bruce Buffer said "and new..." by way of introducing Cejudo as the champion, Destiny knew two things; 1) Demetrious had lost a professional fight for the first time in almost seven years; and 2) things were about to get very, very interesting.

"I didn't cry when he lost, but when they did the interview after the fight, that's when I cried," she remembers. "I was so proud with how he carried himself and how he answered.

"I knew he was heartbroken because it was the unknown. He had this future planned for him, for us. In that moment, I can imagine all these different feelings, but for me, I looked at our friends and I gave them hugs and said, 'You guys, this is a weight lifted off of his shoulders.' I know it's a weight lifted off of his shoulders. It's no longer on him. He's carried that for so long." 

In the aftermath, many champions would have immediately sought a rematch, especially when their reign was finally ended with a controversial split decision. But Johnson didn't ask about that. In the back, before the sweat had even dried, he had a single question for his managers Malki and Abe Kawa.

"Can I get out of my contract?" he remembers with a laugh. Most fighters work their entire martial arts lives to get a chance at competing for the UFC. Johnson, the moment he wasn't trapped by the promotion's onerous champion's clause that kept him locked in place, was looking instead for an escape hatch.

"Malki said, 'Yeah, I'll get you out of your contract.' So I was like, 'Sweet.' There was a long battle between them and UFC to figure out how to make it work, and they were able to make it work. The opportunity became available to me to fight for the ONE Championship, and I was like, 'OK, I'm gonna do it.'"  

Johnson opened up his life to Bleacher Report for a day leading up to his ONE Championship debut Sunday against Japanese sensation Yuya Wakamatsu on B/R Live. He says moving to ONE wasn't about securing the biggest possible paycheck. It wasn't about furthering his video game empire, although when Johnson learned Bleacher Report's cameraman was a fellow World of Warcraft enthusiast, he broke into excited, indecipherable chatter about the fictional world of Azeroth that lasted the better part of an hour.

For Johnson, one half of an unprecedented trade that saw ONE's Ben Askren move to the UFC, competing in the sport's biggest promotion had ceased being fun. He'd been worn down by the UFC's familiar pre-fight back-and-forth with opponents. By the end of his time, the fights outside the cage felt just as fierce as the ones in it.

"It was constant," Destiny says, reflecting the point of view that made headlines when Johnson issued a statement to MMA Fighting in June 2017. "'No we're not paying you this. No you don't deserve that. You're not selling fights. If you don't take this fight, I'm closing the weight class.' There was constant negativity."

(UFC chief Dana White offered a rebuttal to Johnson's statement, as reported by TMZ and summarized by Cageside Press.)

"... Those conversations got really dirty," Destiny says. "But he had so much confidence in who he was that he said, 'Close it then.' Because he wasn't going to change...he's never going to change who he is. He's never going to try to become what they want. They wanted something he couldn't provide. They want the animosity, they want to see conflict. But Mr. Nice Guy, that's who he is deep down in his soul."

Leaving the UFC just felt right. There was nothing left for him there. The world the UFC built and made billions from, a world where Conor McGregor thrived after throwing a dolly at a bus, where Ronda Rousey shot the bird at Miesha Tate and went into hiding after suffering her first loss, wasn't for him. Even Cejudo felt like a chapter he was happy to close. He'd beaten the new champion before and wasn't entirely convinced he had even lost the rematch.

"I had been beaten before where I felt like I didn't have an answer," Johnson says. "Early in my career, I felt like I got beat by a bigger, stronger dude. He beat me everywhere. That was (former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick) Cruz. I felt like, Damn, I lost that fight. He suplexed me like three times. With Cejudo, I didn't feel like I lost. One judge thought that he won and it is what it is." 

Johnson is careful not to disparage the UFC. He doesn't want to appear bitter or even ungrateful for the life his career there has provided for his family of three kids under six.

As close as he'll come to directly criticizing the UFC on the record is this:

"Promoting someone as a great fighter is a hard thing to do. When you look at Anderson Silva, it took him forever to be beloved by people and it didn't really happen until Chael Sonnen came around to talk crap to him.

"But you can make a star out of anyone. You can have an ant versus a wasp and probably sell it out as long as you market it correctly. When it came to the marketing part, they probably didn't do it to the best of their ability with me."

With the UFC, the pressure was always there to be someone he wasn't, with the hyper-aggressive McGregor serving as the de facto role model for every other fighter in the promotion. Johnson couldn't bring himself to be that guy. And the guy he was, one with diverse and even potentially profitable outside interests, never seemed like enough for company officials who he believes preferred the manufactured to the real. 

"I pushed to get out there on the celebrity gaming circuit," Johnson remembers. "I saw the Thursday ELeague Showdown. They had Shaq, they had Reggie Bush. These motherf--kers don't play video games. Stop putting them in there! And I understand. They have to create content and get viewers. But I would dust every one of those guys."

In the end, the move wasn't so much about what the UFC lacked, he says, but what ONE offered on a spiritual, emotional and (yes) monetary level. His top training partner, Bibiano Fernandes, is one of the promotion's best fighters. Even Askren's wife called, telling Destiny about how well the company had treated their family.

Demetrious knew he'd be comfortable there—and after years of battling the UFC, just being comfortable and happy seemed like a pretty big deal.

"I wanted a change," he says. "I wanted something different. I wanted to be able to compete for a company that values smaller fighters, a company that likes to focus not just on one person but on all of its athletes. They aren't focused on getting behind a hype train and blowing him up. They get behind everybody to do their best and to tell everyone's story, and I like that.

"... It's kind of the vibe. It's kind of the values. In North America, people like controversy. I understand. Controversy creates emotion, creates buzz. Over in Asia, you see a lot more respect and athletes who have honor, integrity and discipline." 

---

As a kid growing up near Tacoma, Washington, Johnson was encouraged to bang the wall with gusto. Kind of odd behavior in retrospect, but it was actually encouraged in his often single-parent home. He and his brother would bang or stomp and Momma would come running. That's just how things were in his house—you pounded on the wall when you needed Momma and you looked her in the eye when you spoke.

It wasn't until an older sibling revealed the truth when he was 13 that Johnson realized the truth.

"I said, 'Mom, are you deaf?' She said, 'Yeah.' I'm like, 'What the f--k? Mom, how long have you been deaf?' She said, 'I've been deaf my whole life.' That's why she taught us that when you talk to someone, you look them in the eye. So she could read our lips."

Johnson thinks about those days sometimes, his deaf mom jamming to Tupac's "California Love" because she could feel the beat surround her, as he prepares breakfast for the kids before school. Life wasn't always easy for his family, the hard times dark enough to drive him even in the midst of unprecedented MMA success.

"I remember waking up and going to the refrigerator and only having a gallon of milk, a gallon of orange juice and some TV dinners in the freezer," he says. "I remember my beginnings, and that keeps me humble and grateful that I can provide the kind of life for my family that I didn't have." 

Next to him, Destiny can only nod. She's been a presence in his life since both were teenagers, the hidden source of power that helped propel his nascent professional fighting career from day one. To this day, she says, the kind of things that others take for granted are capable of moving Demetrious to states of awe and wonder.

"Even just last week, I had gone grocery shopping and everything was organized and all pretty, and he opened up the fridge and said, 'This is beautiful.' I said, 'What's beautiful?' He said, 'Looking in the refrigerator growing up, empty, It was empty. So to be able to have a refrigerator that's full of fresh food, healthy food, produce, thank you.' Those little things, and we've been together going on 13 years, he's still like, 'Thank you.'"

The two met at Red Lobster where she was a server and he made cheddar biscuits in the back. They gabbed about everything, mostly their failing relationships. When she was around Demetrious, Destiny realized, she felt good. He made everything, even the drudgery of restaurant work, fun.

"Every time I would walk down the alley of the restaurant he would say, 'Booty, booty, booty, booty, rocking everywhere.' It was just funny, always just to crack a smile," she says. "When he left for another job, he gave me his phone number on a little Post-it, and I called him that night. I didn't waste any time."

Johnson had been a smart kid at Washington High School. His grade-point average, he still recalls, was 3.85. He was an athlete too, going from losing every wrestling match his sophomore year to state runner-up as a junior. Like most smart kids, he was pushed on the path to higher education, attending Pierce College for two years, feeling a little trapped every minute. 

He remembers being called into the guidance counselor's office to discuss his falling grades. At 19 he was working full time, taking 15 hours of classes and had just discovered both mixed martial arts and Destiny. Something, he remembers the woman telling him, would have to go.

"I was like, 'Peace. I'm out.' I wanted to enjoy myself," he says. "And the time I found myself really enjoying my life was when I was training. So I dropped out of college."  

Soon his life took on a familiar pattern. He'd get up in the morning and get in a workout, work all day at a variety of jobs, everything from Taco Bell, to construction, to a paper plant, then race to the gym where he'd teach classes and then train. If there was time, he'd sneak in some time playing World of Warcraft.

Then he'd get up and do it all again. 

"Between Destiny and I, we were clearing maybe $1,600 a month. I remember having just $50 in the bank account. You're just grinding. That's life. You just grind and grind and grind. How bad do you want it?"

A decade later, little had changed. The grind of his life had become exhausting. There was fighting at an unprecedented level, a family of five, more than 150,000 fans on Twitch to entertain and the UFC's constant insistence that he sell, sell, sell. Johnson has always lived this way, taking on responsibilities until he walked right up to the breaking point and teetered on the edge.

"I was a champion from 2012 to 2018. That's six years of title fights," Johnson says. "And not three-round fights. These are five-round fights. In one year, I did three title defenses along with shoulder surgery. It wasn't like I was wasting my time as champion. I was putting in the work."

Johnson was 15 fights into a promising professional career before he even focused on fighting full time, advancing all the way to a UFC title shot against Cruz in 2011 despite rarely training MMA even 10 hours a week. 

"(Coach) Matt (Hume) always told me, 'You need to quit your job'. I was like, 'Matt, when you can bring me a stable check for $400 a week, then we can talk. Until then, I'm going to work,'" Johnson says. "Even when I quit my job during the training camp for Cruz, I wasn't sure about it. I fought for the world title and remember I only made $14,000. I got a bonus check for $20,000. I walked away with $25,000 [after taxes]. That's when I quit my job for real."

---

There was never another UFC fight for Johnson without title implications. He won the inaugural flyweight tournament in 2012 and then defended that title 11 consecutive times. But what had been a pure relationship with fighting as mastery of an esoteric art and a pretty cool way to get some exercise morphed into something different.

As champion, Johnson was forced to do more than just fight and win. He was expected to sell, not just the sport, but himself, something MMA Junkie's Ben Fowlkes argues the former assistant manager of a Journeys shoe store was profoundly unsuited for:

"He gets to the top and realizes, wait, this is just another sales job.

"At least, that's what it must feel like on weeks like this. Here he is, one of the most dominant champions in the UFC, one of the few fighters where, when they throw around phrases like 'pound-for-pound best' during the commercials, it feels pretty legit, and when he makes the media rounds what we want to know is, So why should we pay for this?

"For people with the sales gene, it's the question their skills are designed to answer, sometimes even before it's been asked. For people like Johnson, it presents two unappealing options: 1) Stumble and fake and guess your way through an answer, probably poorly, or 2) Refuse to acknowledge the validity of the question.

"More and more these days, it seems like Johnson is going with the second option."

That article was written in 2015, and for the next three years, almost every story about the 125-pound champion focused like a laser, not on Johnson's inarguable excellence in the cage, but on his reticence to promote himself outside of it. Ironically, at the same time, he was slowly building his own brand in the video game space, launching a Twitch channel to monetize his passion for World of Warcraft.

The game, at one point years earlier, almost torpedoed his relationship with Destiny. 

"I remember several times coming home from work and the laundry was still on the couch and dishes were piled high in his game room and he still wanted me cooking for him," she says. "I told him, 'I can't do this anymore.' I gave him an ultimatum. Something has to change because this is ridiculous. You get one day off a week and you're sunup to sundown, sitting in the same spot, same underwear, hadn't brushed your teeth, like what the hell is going on here."

Johnson put away the games then, choosing his real life over a virtual one. He obsessed over his training instead of spending that time hunkering down over a laptop. But a few years later in 2014, he found a solution that could make gaming work as both a business and a hobby.

"I remember when he went live the first time on Twitch," she says. "He was sweating so bad. He was so nervous. I was sitting outside the camera so no one could see me and he's like, 'Hello...' So awkward. And he's on camera all the time, but it was his first time doing this. It's his channel, and he's not just playing games. He's entertaining. It was just funny to see him, with all he's done, so nervous about video games."

Now gaming is just part of a broader search for balance. If he could, he'd choose gaming over fighting. But that's just not reality, and Johnson is too old to live a fantasy. With a new baby at home and a new professional adventure with ONE, Johnson is down to eight hours a week. 

"I was going to bed with my wife like one or two days a week and now I am going to bed with her almost every day of the week and getting eights hours of sleep," Johnson says. "I made money from streaming and I wanted the extra cash, but I said, 'Is it worth it?' I took a step back and decided it's not.

"I wanted to be able to perform better in the gym, focus more on my competition. The people who support me understand that. And I have three kids. I can't just say, 'OK, kids go play with your Legos; I'm gonna play video games for three hours.'"

That he has to perform this kind of mental calculus at all says a lot about MMA's pay structure. Even the best fighters in the world make pennies on the dollar compared to their professional counterparts in other sports. It's created an uncomfortable reality for fighters like Johnson, who prefer to focus on the athletic competition and flowery concepts like artistry but find themselves drawn into the ever-waging battle for compensation.

To Johnson, scrounging after a few thousand dollars should be the last thing on his mind. He hated chasing sponsors before a fight and then chasing them again afterward just to get what he was promised. He even wore an Xbox logo on his trunks sometimes when he wasn't even being paid by Microsoft anymore, hoping to possibly secure a regular paycheck from the mega-corporation. 

"I didn't mind the Reebok sponsorship," he says of the UFC's controversial decision to hand over fighter branding to the apparel company. "Reebok was just like, 'Wear our s--t and we're going to give you 40 G's.' That money was there eight days after the fight, every time. Boom, in my account. For a guy who is 5'3", 125 pounds and doesn't have anyone out there hustling for him, this was a breath of fresh air. I didn't have to focus on that."

These days, the focus is back where he believes it belongs—inside the cage, where he hopes to conquer a brand-new promotion like he first conquered the UFC. He pushes aside any discussion of his pro gaming life or sponsorship opportunities in Asia. For once, he believes, it's time to focus on what he does best. He sees five more years in the sport before he hangs up the gloves for good, retiring to the kind of life he's spent his entire career building.

"After I'm done fighting, I ain't working," he says. "I'm waking my ass up and doing whatever I want to do. That's my goal. I've been working since I was 15-and-a-half years old. When I'm finally done pushing my heart and pushing my body to the limit, I'm done. I'll still pursue my passions, but I'm not going to be clocking in.

"There's a reality. I am older. It is a different talent pool. There are a lot of things that are different. I'm just going to go out there and compete and hopefully become a champion. In the end for me, I just want to be successful. I just want to be able to pay my bills and take care of my family. That's my ultimate goal. If I become a champion again, awesome. If I don't, it is what it is. I've already accomplished a lot in this sport."

    

Jonathan Snowden covers combat sports for Bleacher Report.

Eddie Alvarez swears he doesn't have a wandering eye. In fact, he says he doesn't mind sticking around a place for awhile.

Your skepticism is understandable. After all, Alvarez is about to debut for his 11th promotion in a career that stretches over 15 years and six countries.

His initial attempts to sign with the UFC involved an emotional, expensive and ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit, followed by a return to Bellator to finish out a contract he wanted no part of. He finally signed with the UFC and became the lightweight champion in his fourth fight, silencing those who said he was merely a good fighter who couldn't compete with the elite.

After years of traveling the globe in search of a good fight, it seemed like Alvarez had finally found a home.

And then he was gone.

Alvarez signed with ONE Championship and will make his debut Sunday against Timofey Nastyukhin on B/R Live. He's one of the more high-profile free agents to depart the UFC in recent years.

Alvarez lost to Dustin Poirier in the final fight of his UFC contract, but the promotion still wanted to keep him. It made what Alvarez tells Bleacher Report was "a generous offer...for the UFC," a deal that would place him among the upper-echelon earners in the company.   

But it wasn't enough. Alvarez wanted a larger slice of the pie.

"I've always been under the impression that UFC fighters are severely underpaid," Alvarez says. "There's a lot of money being made by the executives, and it's not being shared. The fighters aren't being paid enough. I've always felt that way. They made a generous offer compared to other UFC fighters. I would have been one of the higher-paid UFC fighters. But there's still a lot more money out there to be earned. I wasn't willing to settle."

Alvarez is the kind of fighter the UFC normally covets. He is a top-level fighter with a passionate fanbase, and he can't help but have exciting fights. With a new television deal having launched on ESPN in January, the UFC needed fighters like that. However, the company wasn't willing to match or beat the terms ONE offered.

"If you're the biggest show in town, you gotta be writing the biggest checks in town," Alvarez says.

The money wasn't the only thing that appealed to Alvarez. He'd fought in Japan before, in the now-defunct DREAM promotion, and he appreciated the way fighting in Asia was viewed as a sport rather than the strange mixture of sport and entertainment that defines the MMA industry in the United States. He hated the promotional aspects that were required during the lead-up to a UFC fight, hated being urged to say things about his opponents to build interest in his bouts.

"The UFC wants to be compared to other sports like baseball or basketball, but when it comes to us, we're not treated like athletes," Alvarez says. "We're treated like fighters. So being with ONE has been great. I feel like an athlete."

He knew from his days in DREAM that he'd be able to focus solely on fighting.

"They don't want any of that stuff," he says. "It's a different culture. It's a different fan. The fan here just wants to see good technical martial arts."

Alvarez has a crowd-pleasing style that translates across all fighting cultures. If you had to distill it into something pure, it can best be described as "kill or be killed." Yes, it's a worn-out cliche, but it's true for Alvarez. Even when he intends to go into the cage and fight smarter or take less damage, that goes out the window once the first strike is thrown.

These days, he doesn't even pretend something different will happen. He is who he is—a gritty fighter from Philadelphia who is either going to hurt or be hurt—and he's comfortable with it.

"I'm okay with swinging for the home run and missing," he says. "It's just a part of my character. It's who I am. I tried to run from it and tried to be less risky, but I can't run from it. I love to play the game. I love the high stakes."

He's also aware his style comes with more than just the risk of being knocked out or losing a fight. There are consequences he may not feel until long after his fighting days are done. He doesn't need a scientific study to tell him that repeatedly getting punched in the head might lead to problems down the line.

When he makes his ONE debut Sunday in the opening round of the lightweight grand prix, and he'll do the exact same thing he's always done. It's who he is, and it's too late to change.

He pauses slightly when asked if he ever worries about the toll he's exacting on his future self.

"Yeah," he says. "But I just can't allow myself to think about that stuff. I married this sport when I was 19 years old. I committed to it. I said my vows. I'm fully committed. I'm not going to start thinking about all the terrible things that could go wrong.

"I'm aware of the bad things that are involved with it. But I'm also aware of the good. And I think the good outweighs the bad.

"I've chosen a life that I love, and I feel like it does way more good for me than bad."

After a five-year career with the UFC, former lightweight champion Eddie "The Underground King" Alvarez makes his ONE Championship debut on Sunday at ONE: A New Era against Timofey Nastyukhin in Tokyo. Watch the event on B/R Live.

        

Eddie Alvarez fought against some of the best mixed martial artists on the planet during his time with Bellator and the UFC, earning a reputation as a thrilling performer unafraid to finish his opponent in frenetic style.

We spoke with The Underground King about his long-term ambitions with ONE Championship during the promotion's recent press tour in the United States.

"I want to bring [ONE Championship] to America and show the American fans true martial arts and the honor, the respect, and dignity that goes into it," Alvarez said. "The best fight the best. It's not about who has the most Twitter followers or who fought in WWE. It's about the best fighters fighting the best fighters."

Alvarez signed with the Asian-based promotion last October in an eight-figure deal that is one of the largest in mixed martial arts history. It was also a chance to star in a promotion more about the action inside the ring than out.

"It's run by fighters and for fighters," Alvarez said. "The executives are all martial artists who have competed and understand the highs and lows of the sport and understand the fighters. That's been a breath of fresh air in that aspect."

It's been a long road for The Underground King. Born in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Kensington, so notorious for its organized crime and drug trade that mayor Jim Kenney declared a state of emergency for the area last fall, Alvarez always knew he was meant for more than what the area could offer him.

"My calling was greater than to just work a job every day and make ends meet," Alvarez said in an interview with ONE Championship. "Fighting gave me that outlet. It was something I was always gifted in, something I always enjoyed."

Working in construction to supplement his mixed martial arts dream, The Underground King spent the first three years of his fighting career traveling to smaller promotions across the northeast and dominating the competition en route to a 7-0 professional start.

His knack for knockouts quickly spread around the MMA world, with Alvarez getting the opportunity to compete in Japan, Canada, Costa Rica and Russia all within a year. 

The journeyman finally found a long-term home in 2008 when he spent the year with Japanese-based promotion, Dream.

"When I fought in Asia, I became very popular," Alvarez told Brian Mazique of Forbes. "When I fought in Asia, the fans truly loved fighting and martial arts. They believed in the integrity, the honor, and the respect. That's what they valued."

After conquering the international scene, Alvarez decided to return stateside and join Bellator as one of the promotion's first signings. It was here that he cemented himself as one of the best lightweights in the world, bulldozing the division en route to his first major title.

He went on to become the first two-time lightweight champion in Bellator history, capturing the belt again in his last fight with the company.

Months later, Alvarez joined the UFC. His first test came against fan favorite and 24-6 Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone. He lost the bout by unanimous decision but went on to defeat stars such as Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis before earning a UFC lightweight title shot against Rafael dos Anjos.

It was then that Alvarez did the unexpected, defeating Dos Anjos by first-round knockout and becoming the only athlete to win a title in each of the United States' two biggest mixed martial arts promotions.

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Eddie Alvarez full fight video https://t.co/DLMxEqsLaP pic.twitter.com/9PI2jXCKyP

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 8, 2016

Alvarez silenced many doubters within the division, and he came out of his title-winning bout with a clear understanding of who he wanted next: "Please give me Conor McGregor."

Months later, Alvarez's plead was answered. The lightweight titleholder took on featherweight champion McGregor on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden, the first UFC event to take place in the historic arena.

As one can imagine, the trash talk quickly followed. 

All eyes were on McGregor, who could become the first simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history with a win.

"Mystic Mac predicts I'll knock him out in one round," McGregor said when discussing how he thought the bout would go. It wasn't the first round, but The Notorious did defeat Alvarez by TKO in the second.

Alvarez admitted he felt out of sorts when having to verbally spar with McGregor throughout the buildup to the event as a competitor used to keeping his head down and focusing his attentions on the match. This was part of the appeal of returning to Asia for ONE Championship once his UFC contract finished in mid-2018.

"At ONE, I don't have to conduct myself in any manner, or change my character or try to be someone just to get a title shot, or jump in line, or something like that," Alvarez told Brian Mazique of Forbes.

"America is very much like that. It's like the squeaky wheel always gets the oil because a lot of American fans want to hear a story, a rivalry or a grudge... I can be myself (at ONE). I don't have to act out of character to sell something. I'm looking forward to being myself and not having to do things that I don't necessarily agree with in order to get ahead or get to a title shot."

The power of free agency is something the Philadelphia native tries to emphasize to fellow peers in the tail-end of their current contracts after signing his historic eight-figure deal.

"I was under the notion that all fighters are underpaid. All fighters in general. For the value we bring and how much the promotions make overall, not just UFC; what they make versus what is paid out, all fighters are underpaid,” Alvarez explained in a recent interview on The Ariel Helwani MMA Show.

"The value of free agency today is so incredible. For any fighter to give that up is foolish. If you really want to make money in this sport and test how much you're worth, you become a free agent. I would say there's no other option."

The Underground King is excited to return to Asia as he reminisced about his first stint on the continent. 

"I think even the presentation itself is different," Alvarez told B/R Live. "When you go to a UFC event, it's American. It's loud. The people are roaring, whereas in Asia you get a martial arts feel. It's genuine. You hear the war drums. The athletes bow to the crowd. It feels like an old school PRIDE event. I remember when Fedor Emelianenko was at his prime and there were 80,000 people there to watch him. I could see all that happening again.”

Nine months after his last match, Alvarez will take the ONE stage for the first time against Timofey Nastyukhin in the quarterfinals of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix on Sunday in Tokyo. The winner of the tournament becomes the No. 1 contender for the lightweight title held by Eduard Folayang.

PHOTO: ONE Championship Reveals Lightweight World Grand Prix Bracket https://t.co/0v2eJnhcQR pic.twitter.com/P4n34vo1gb

— PWP Nation (@PWPNation) January 25, 2019

His quest to become the first mixed martial arts athlete in history to win a title with Bellator, UFC and ONE soon begins.

"I know everything I need to know about Timofey," Alvarez said. "For me, it's about his fight style. I've fought all over the world against guys from all parts of the world, so I understand fight styles and how I match up against them.

"He's a powerful striker, a former champion, and not anyone to look past. We've taken him very seriously, but my growth is paramount. It's about me getting better with my wrestling, my jiu-jitsu, my striking, my conditioning. I know if I go out there prepared and ready, I can beat the best guys in the world. I've already proven it. I hope he comes with his best game.”

It also appears Alvarez is already being targeted by other athletes in the ONE lightweight division, with fellow American Lowen Tynanes calling him out after his first-round Grand Prix win.

https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1088815575600648193

"The idea that any other athlete is fixated on what I'm doing...I'm not a poster boy," Alvarez said in response to Tynanes' callout. "I don't want to be a poster boy. I'm here to prove myself, so whatever attention I'm getting, I've earned it.

"I've not only earned it here, but I've earned it by fighting the best in the world consistently throughout my whole career. He also has to earn it. I'll make sure whatever callout or aggression he had toward me, that he pays for it when we come up against each other.”

The fire in Alvarez is still clearly well-lit.

After a seven-year career with the UFC, former flyweight champion Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson makes his ONE Championship debut on March 31 at ONE: A New Era against Yuya Wakamatsu in Tokyo. Watch the event on B/R Live.

       

"Your winner, and new undisputed UFC flyweight champion of the world: Henry 'The Messenger' Cejudo."

To be the best, you have to beat the best.

Flash🔙 to #UFC227 when 🏆 @HenryCejudo took down the flyweight king. #UFCBrooklyn pic.twitter.com/UQVPJCt8NG

— UFC (@ufc) January 14, 2019

Just like that, UFC Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer spoke it into existence on August 4, 2018. Demetrious Johnson's nearly six-year reign as UFC flyweight champion had finally come to an end. 

It had been a long journey up to that fateful night. Johnson's first UFC fight took place in the bantamweight division in 2011.

"Mighty Mouse" got off on the right foot with the company, winning his first two bouts en route to a title match with legend Dominick Cruz. Although a unanimous-decision loss stopped Johnson in his tracks, he turned heads with his display against the 19-1 Cruz.

UFC president Dana White was in the process of establishing a flyweight division within the promotion. He approached Johnson, who was fighting one weight class higher at the time, to drop down and be one of four participants in a flyweight tournament to crown the inaugural champion. Johnson agreed, and after two tournament wins, he became UFC's first-ever flyweight title holder.

In what is considered to be one of the most dominant streaks in UFC history, Johnson successfully defended his title a record 11 straight times. It wasn't until almost six years later that an Olympic gold medalist would be the one to finally get the better of the flyweight king. 

Considered one of the biggest upsets in mixed martial arts history, the fight against Cejudo was a tight affair.

The back-and-forth bout kept people guessing until the end, and after five rounds, the judges ruled in slight favor of Cejudo. However, some have made the case that it was Johnson who should have been named the winner.

Johnson says he has no hard feelings regarding his loss. "It was never my division," Johnson told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. "I've moved on to bigger and better things, in my opinion. I am legitimately happy for Henry Cejudo."

And that was it. No one could have known that would be the last time we saw Mighty Mouse compete in a UFC Octagon.

On October 27, 2018, Johnson made the move to ONE Championship after requesting a release from his UFC contract.

"At the end of the day, I felt that I'm pretty young in my career, and I wanted to try something different," Johnson said during his introductory press conference with ONE. "I've always wanted to travel the world and compete, and actually grew up watching Asian mixed martial arts with PRIDE mostly.

"To be able to have the opportunity to travel over to Asia to compete was something I couldn't pass up."

Although he's long gone from UFC, Johnson's presence still lingers within the company during a dire time for the flyweights, with speculation that White is looking to axe the division entirely due to low pay-per-view draws.

Johnson said that White approached him as early as 2017 threatening to eliminate the division after Mighty Mouse refused to fight T.J. Dillashaw instead of previously agreed upon opponent Ray Borg. 

"After telling Dana my reasons, Dana angrily told me that I am fighting T.J., once again, with no other option or say in my career, and against the plans we had previously laid out," Johnson said in a statement he released shortly after his disagreement with White went public.

"He went on further to say that if I didn't take the fight against T.J., and drop Borg as the opponent, he would get rid of the entire flyweight division. He said, this is for T.J. and I'm taking away T.J.'s opportunity. That fact that he feels that what I should do in my career is for T.J., tells where his priority lies."

What was supposed to be the final dagger in the UFC flyweight division last January did not go according to plan, with Henry Cejudo defeating bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw to keep his belt, and quite possibly the flyweight division, alive.

"Where are you, Uncle Dana? Where you hiding?" a smiling Cejudo said after the match, looking around for White. "This victory, and I said it before, it was much bigger than me. This victory was for the flyweights."

It certainly was a victory for the UFC flyweights, but it was no longer a problem the promotion's greatest flyweight had to deal with.

Sliding my way over to @ONEChampionship 😊 pic.twitter.com/3FteeZFSO8

— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) October 27, 2018

Johnson formally left UFC when White agreed to release him from his contract and allow Mighty Mouse to sign with ONE, only if ONE released Ben Askren, former ONE welterweight champion, from his contract so he could sign with UFC. This was dubbed the first "trade" in mixed martial arts history.

"I was the one that went to ONE and said, 'Hey, let's make this happen'," said Malki Kawa, Johnson's agent, on the Ariel Helwani MMA Show. "And it was funny because ONE was kind of against it at first. And I won't forget they were like, 'You know, we're going to have to sleep on it.'

"I tried to let them understand, 'You guys got a guy that's retired. And I'm giving you an active one of the greats. Like, are we serious? This is the best you're going to get from the UFC.' It took them 24, 36 hours, and they came back and said, 'OK, if this and this and this happens.' And that's kind of how the whole thing went down. And then I was just in between both sides and finally got it done."

In an interview with B/R Live during ONE's first-ever press tour in the United States, Johnson went into detail regarding his move to ONE and his lasting impressions of UFC.

"Obviously I spent a lot of time here in North America. I achieved everything I think that I could achieve with 11 consecutive title defenses," Johnson told B/R Live.

"The North American audience isn't very fond of lighter weight divisions, so when I had the opportunity to make the journey over to ONE Championship and start competing in Asia, it wasn't an offer I could pass up. There are no hard feelings for me regarding UFC. I had a great time there. I made a lot of money, fought for championship belts, and I got to meet a lot of fans because of it."

Someone Johnson has gotten to know a lot better over the past few months is another former UFC fighter turned ONE athlete, Eddie Alvarez. Johnson cited Alvarez's move to ONE just weeks prior to his as inspiration for a change, and he offered advice for any mixed martial arts athlete considering their future.

"Something that Eddie Alvarez was very vocal about was testing free agency," Johnson said. "Sometimes the athletes might not want to come over to ONE because they don't fit the brand. My suggestion to any athlete seeking advice on what the next step in their career should be is to go and test free agency, go where you feel you're wanted, and be happy."

Alvarez heaped praise on Johnson, who he considers to be the greatest of all time.

"I've always admired DJ," Alvarez told B/R Live. "People always ask me who I think the greatest fighter in MMA history is, and I always say DJ. It's very difficult to defend a title against young, hungry lions all the time over and over again. To be able to do it 11 times in a row for the many years, the consistency of performances, I don't think people comprehend the greatness of that. It's just pretty cool to be around each other, feed off each other's energy, and learn from each other."

Johnson was immediately intrigued by ONE's management, specifically that of president Chatri Sityodtong, who is a former trainer of UFC champions like Rafael dos Anjos and Rich Franklin.

It was Sityodtong's history as a competitor that drew Johnson to ONE, a much different upper management relationship than to that of UFC.

Mighty Mouse cited the understanding and empathy of former muay thai athlete Sityodtong and ONE vice president and former UFC champion Rich Franklin as major points for his decision to choose ONE, understanding and empathy Johnson felt was often absent from UFC management that couldn't relate to bout preparation during their butting of heads in 2017.

However, eight months after his loss to Cejudo, which resulted in a long rehabilitation process due to a ligament tear, Johnson is ready to take the ONE stage for the first time against Yuya Wakamatsu in the quarterfinals of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix on March 31 in Tokyo. The winner of the tournament will become the No. 1 contender for the flyweight title held by Adriano Moraes.

BREAKING NEWS: The ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix kicks off at ONE: A New Era on March 31 in Tokyo, featuring all quarterfinal fights with some of the best flyweights on the planet together! BOOM!!! pic.twitter.com/XkUUWBDT7R

— Chatri Sityodtong (@yodchatri) February 21, 2019

"Wakamatsu comes from a great camp," Johnson said. "He's a very young Japanese athlete. He's very tough and has a lot of knockout wins in the first round. He loves the right hand. I'll go out there and see what I can do. I don't like to say I can take advantage of anyone in a competition because a fight's a fight. Anything can happen essentially. For me, I'm just going to go out there focused, do what I do best, and that's be Demetrious Johnson."

"My long-term ambition with ONE is obviously to become a champion. I want to be a great brand ambassador and a great ONE athlete. "

It's become a running source of sardonic humor for MMA fans: How many fights will weight-cutting affect this weekend?

Most people talk about it through the lens of inconvenience. When a fighter clocks in over the required weight—or fails to reach the scales—an anticipated bout can be altered or scuttled. Most react to it in that Twitter sort of way—all the while knowing full well that it's all just a coping tool for something scarier, and that, inconvenient though it may be, we should probably all count ourselves fortunate.

The eye-rolls and chuckles conceal a relatively widespread understanding of the danger weight-cutting poses. Large or mismanaged cuts heighten the danger inside the cage by increasing the risk of concussion. But fighters often characterize the cut as being a kind of fight before the fight—a perilous, draining challenge.

Eight events deep into UFC's 2019 slate as of March 22, no fewer than eight fighters have missed weight before their contests. Additionally, both Marlon Vera and Tom Breese withdrew from fights just a few days or hours, respectively, before they were set to make the walk, in each case citing an unspecified health concern—always a strong hint that weight-cutting may have played a role.

More dramatic examples exist in the recent past. In September, UFC women's flyweight champion Nicco Montano was hospitalized the day before her first title defense and the fight was canceled.

Featherweight champion Max Holloway has repeatedly struggled with his cut—not so long ago startling broadcasters and viewers alike when he appeared sluggish and slurred his speech during a televised interview. 

These are all examples from the UFC, but no one believes weight-cutting is well-controlled in any setting. In fact, the UFC—with an assist from the state athletic commissions and other entities that help regulate the process to varying degrees—has a relatively solid record in this area. There are many worse instances elsewhere in the world—some that ended in tragedy.

Recently, during his weight cut, Brazilian fighter Alexandre Pereira Silva suffered a heart attack and later slipped into a coma, where he stayed for two months before experiencing what doctors and family termed a miraculous recovery, per MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz.

Sadly, it would not have been the first fatality in MMA because of weight-cutting. Chinese flyweight Yang Jian Bing died in 2015 reportedly because of weight-cut complications.

One Championship Flyweight Jianbing Yang Dies Following Weigh-ins https://t.co/phKoRty4mG pic.twitter.com/XjUz5w3Uc9

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) December 12, 2015

Yang competed for ONE Championship, the Singapore-based promotion that recently made waves by acquiring UFC stars Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez. Shortly after Yang's death, the promotion announced in December 2015 it would overhaul its weigh-in procedures. Now, ONE has emerged as a leader in the sluggish move toward a safer MMA environment. 

The new program, billed as the first of its kind in combat sports, bans weight-cutting through dehydration—the part of the process that allows for rapid weight loss while adding the most danger—and increases monitoring. Officials use urine-specific gravity testing to check hydration levels, and fighters are required to stay at their normal or "walking-around" weight throughout fight week up through the contest.

ONE Championship officials declined a request to discuss their weight-monitoring procedures.

However, veteran MMA trainer Alex Davis, who works at the vaunted American Top Team camp, had some nice things to say about the process last July. After he accompanied fighter Adriano Moraes to Macau, China, Davis called the weigh-in program "innovative" and "smooth" while recalling the experience for a story in MMA Junkie:

"Not only does every fighter have to be at an appointed weight, but they also must do a urine test to make sure the fighters are properly hydrated, as well. At first, this may seem complicated, but in reality, ONE has streamlined the process, The fighters know and understand the process and why they are submitting to it – their safety is the primary focus. You might think it would take a lot of people in order to make a weigh-in system like this work, but ONE has also proven to the contrary. The staff is a very small but competent group."

So far, new programs like this one have not caught on more widely. The fact is, as long as Fighter B is doing it, Fighter A feels he or she will need to do it, too—lest a substantial size advantage be surrendered.

In no small part because of that dynamic, it might take a body such as the UFC to institute a full ban. However, that would require the shapeless mass that is the nation's patchwork of athletic commissions to somehow agree to and enforce something in some kind of roughly similar way. People don't hold their breath too often when waiting for that to happen.

It is difficult, but ONE has shown that solutions can be efficient as well as effective, as the promotion works to make something good out of Yang's tragic death. Fighters, fans and others must be hoping that the UFC doesn't need its own tragedy to reach the same epiphany.

         

Scott Harris covers MMA and other sports for Bleacher Report and CNN. 

Meet Angela Lee. A 22-year-old MMA sensation and ONE Championship's atomweight champion of the world.

Lee was born in Vancouver, Canada, before moving to Hawaii as a child. In a family of martial artists, Lee has always stood out. Coming from two MMA hotbeds such as Canada and Hawaii, and with her family history, Lee always seemed destined for this sport. Her youth titles in pankration only solidified the notion she would be a force to be reckoned with when the time came.

Lee's true talents are on the canvas. She is a dynamic and talented submission artist. Lee is quick and strong in grappling exchanges, and her dexterity gives her a wealth of options when engaged. She can transition easily and lock in submissions out of nowhere, and her ground work makes her a constant threat.

I can’t believe I made it into the #GuinnessWorldRecords2019 😱‼️🙌🏼
I use to always buy these books at book fairs as a kid and now I’m actually in it!! 👀🙏🏼
I’m seriously in disbelief right now! This is too cool!! pic.twitter.com/Fn7Dc7LHrC

— Angela Lee Pucci (@angelaleemma) November 19, 2018

It has helped her become a champion at a young age and perhaps could be the key to unlocking history as the youngest double champion come March 31.

How did her ascent to MMA stardom begin, and just how far can she take it? This is your look into Angela Lee's MMA trek to greatness.

                        

ONE Championship recognized the talent of the then 18-year-old prospect who had gone 3-0 in amateur bouts and signed her to a contract. She made her professional and organizational debut on May 22, 2015, against Aya Saied Saber at their 27th event—Warrior's Quest.

The hype was quickly justified, as Lee submitted Saber in just 103 seconds with an armbar. Lee would continue her quick ascent among ONE's most notable fighters with two more first-round submissions. Her third submission was perhaps her most exciting, as it was the rarely seen twister. The unique submission went viral and caught the attention of fans worldwide.

ONE did not rush Lee into a title fight. It took her development slowly as a teenage phenom. Her next two outings went past the first round, but both ended by way of submission like the previous three.

Lee showed some deficiencies with her striking defense, but the continual improvement was also there. Her grappling anchored her matchups and gave her a distinct advantage against the older competition.

Perhaps most impressive is that those five wins all came in under a year's work. ONE Championship kept her busy to foster her development, but her performances also forced its hand after five straight finishes. Lee would battle Mei Yamaguchi for the inaugural atomweight championship.

                     

ONE knew the kind of fighter it had on its hands. It's why it not only created the championship and put her in the inaugural title tilt, but it is why they called the event "Ascent to Power."

It took place on May 6, 2016, 16 days short of one year since her official professional debut. From debut to main event, Lee put everyone on notice: the company, fighters, pundits and fans. She was the real deal, but could she defeat a 33-year-old veteran with over 20 professional bouts?

Yes, she could.

Yamaguchi pushed Lee. The fight went the full 25 minutes and into the hands of the judges. The verdict was unanimous. Lee was champion at 19.

As the growing face of the company and their most notable crossover talent, Lee already had a bullseye painted on her back. Now, with a world title, it only got bigger for her competition.

Lee would return to the cage for her first title defense in March of 2017 against Jenny Huang. In under three rounds, Lee earned a submission from strikes. Her next title defense, against Istela Nunes, wouldn't make it out of the second round because of an anaconda choke. Lee was set for a rematch against Yamaguchi in November until a car accident derailed those plans.

Lee said she fell asleep behind the wheel and wrecked. Luckily, no serious injuries occurred, but it did force Lee to take time away to recover and prepare for the title defense.

The rematch would finally happen in May of 2018 at Unstoppable Dreams, an event named just for her. The result was the same: a unanimous-decision nod for Lee. In nine pro bouts, Lee finished seven of her opponents, and fans watched her continually grow her skills and perform like a true champion.

Angela Lee retains the ONE atomweight title with a decision win over Mei Yamaguchi. First fight for Lee since a potentially career-threatening car accident. She seems thrilled, relieved and emotional. Lee, who is the face of ONE, IMO, is now 9-0.

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 18, 2018

But true champions seek challenges. At just 22, Lee will step up for her biggest challenge to date in an attempt at history.

                      

Lee decided to move up to 125 pounds and challenge strawweight champion Xiong Jing Nan for her title in a bid to become a double champion. Originally slated for November, Lee had to bow out of the proposed fight because of a back injury, per MMAJunkie.com's Fernanda Prates.

Now healed, Lee is ready for the opportunity at ONE Championship's biggest event ever on March 31's A New Era event.

Xiong is bigger, stronger and has multiple knockouts on her 13-1 record. The 31-year-old is in her athletic prime, and shutting down Lee's hype would only bolster her stock. It would also be the biggest victory in Chinese MMA history, making "The Panda" a marketable star throughout Asia.

ONE Championship is not gifting its most recognizable talent an easy fight. It is a true champion vs. champion showdown that carries more significant risks for the challenger than the champion. This is the kind of fight legacies are built upon, and Lee is hoping to stake her claim as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

                   

They say that the sky is the limit, but that may be setting the ceiling too low for Lee. The future is as bright as she wants it to be.

ONE Championship is a growing brand, not just in Asia but globally. As the face of the promotion, Lee can spurn organizations like the UFC and craft her own signature brand to millions of adoring fans alongside the growth of ONE. She is personable, charismatic and talented. And already a champion.

Adding a second belt to her credit, on a stage such as ONE Championship's A New Era, can set her on a path to greatness rarely seen in the sport.

North American fans are still getting to know Lee, but at 22, she still has all the time to establish her footprint in any market she chooses.

Lee is the face of ONE Championship, but she could end up being the face of the sport on the global stage if she continues her tremendous ascent through impressive victories and stunning technical development. There is no more fascinating prospect to watch in the sport's entire landscape.

Roy Jones Jr. may be nearing a return to combat sports a little over a year after his last boxing match.

Former UFC star Vitor Belfort posted a video message he received from Jones on Instagram in which the retired boxer answered a challenge Belfort had issued for a ONE Championship event.

In the caption, Belfort wrote: "I am very excited for what's to come with @OneChampionship and this upcoming fight, I'm even more excited to be the first to bring you this new way of competition, it allows for the 1st time different worlds to collide in a way that's fair and exciting! Thank you accepting Roy and I am looking forward to this fight!"

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Belfort threw down the gauntlet for Jones. He said he'd be willing to fight the boxing legend in a special event where he'd be permitted to "dirty box":

Raise your hand if you'd watch a "special rules" fight between Vitor Belfort and Roy Jones Jr. in ONE Championship pic.twitter.com/P4yPZIA4Ux

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 1, 2019

Jones responded via TMZ Sports. "This is what I do for a living," he said. "Y'all must've forgot. That's who I am. I love a battle. I love a challenge. So, if that's what you want, that's what you get. Ain't like you gotta ask me twice."

Belfort signed with ONE Championship in February. The 41-year-old has been out of mixed martial arts since he lost to Lyoto Machida via second-round knockout at UFC 224 in May 2018.

Jones, who turned 50 in January, beat Scott Sigmon by unanimous decision in February 2018, which was the last time he stepped inside the ropes.

Belfort is 26-14 in his MMA career and captured the UFC light heavyweight championship in January 2004 when he beat Randy Couture. Jones is 66-9 with 47 knockouts professionally and held world titles in four different weight classes.