Demetrious Johnson, Kemp Cheng, Tatsumitsu Wada (©ONE Championship)
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, 32, of the United States was one of the winners at “ONE: Dawn of Heroes.” It was the second ONE Championship victory of the American mixed martial artist who is training out of AMC Pankration in Kirkland, Washington, USA and Evolve MMA in Singapore.
Featuring 13 MMA matches and two Muay Thai matches, “ONE: Dawn of Heroes” took place at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. In the ninth bout of the evening, Johnson faced Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada, 24, in the semi-finals of ONE World Flyweight Grand Prix with Kemp Cheng as the referee.
There was after a brief exchange on the feet in the first round. Eventually, Wada was able to take Johnson to the mat and secure his back but the latter defended very well.
In the second round, action continued with Johnson dominating the grappling exchanges. In the third and final round, he appeared to have Wada figured out and took control of the bout.
After three five-minute rounds, the flyweight bout was left in the hands of the judges. In the end, Cheng raised hand of Johnson, who was declared the winner via unanimous decision.
Winning at “ONE: Dawn of Heroes” improved the professional MMA record of Johnson to 29 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw. On the other hand, Wada now has 21 wins, 11 losses, 2 draws and 1 No Contest.
Including the U.S. and Japan, 12 countries were represented at “ONE: Dawn of Heroes.” The other countries were Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the Philippines and Vietnam.
“ONE: Dawn of Heroes” marked Johnson’s second ONE Championship bout. In his promotional debut, he knocked out Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu, 24, of Japan.
Johnson was one of the three fighters who represented the U.S. Wada was one of the five representatives of Japan.
More photos of the bout between Johnson and Wada are on Top Sports Asia. Here is a clip from the “ONE: Dawn of Heroes” press conference:
