Demetrious Johnson Talks ONE Championship Weigh-Ins, Drug Testing

Former UFC flyweight champion and current ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson spoke about certain criticisms surrounding the Singapore-based promotion.

Johnson enjoyed a successful ONE debut last month when he submitted Yuya Wakamatsu in their flyweight grand prix quarterfinal.

“Mighty Mouse” is seen by many as a perfect fit for the Asian promotion, which has been lauded for its emphasis on the values of MMA rather than trash talking. They also use a different weigh-in system than the UFC.

ONE uses hydration testing so fighters actually compete at the weight class above them in order to remain hydrated and avoid a botched cut. That means Johnson actually weighed in at 135 pounds rather than the usual 125.

These weigh-ins are never open to the media or public, meaning nobody would ever know about someone missing weight. But Johnson claims there was nothing unusual about the weigh-in process when he underwent it.

“I went down there at 1 p.m. local time, waited, and they’re like, ‘Demetrious you’re up first. Let’s test your urine to make sure you’re hydrated,’” Johnson told Sherdog. “Boom. ‘You’re hydrated. Please step on the scale … 61 kilograms. Thank you so much for making weight. We’ll see you tomorrow, 1 p.m. Make sure you’re hydrated and on weight.’ And I went about my business.”

Drug Testing

Another criticism of ONE was that they never drug tested their athletes in the past. That has changed this year, at least, as CEO Chatri Sityodtong revealed World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standard drug testing would be implemented.

That seems to be the case now as Johnson revealed that process was also smooth as could be.

“People over in North America might think that everyone over in ONE Championship is on the juice. We get drug tested. I got drug tested two times.

“I got tested Saturday at my last weigh-in, and then I got tested right after the fight. [They] took two samples, just like I did with [United States Anti-Doping Agency], and they took it to the [World Anti-Doping Agency] labs.”