Demetrious Johnson had to leave one of the biggest contributors to his success behind when he signed with the ever-expanding promotion ONE Championship.

Who was it? It was his longtime coach – Matt Hume. Since Hume has direct involvement in ONE’s operations (Vice President of operations for ONE Championship), he is not the usual staple in Johnson’s corner.

During his conversation with MMA Journalist Ariel Helwani, on The MMA Hour show, Johnson talked about various things, including how he deals with Matt Hume’s absence from his corner.

Johnson said, “Oh, I miss him; I miss him. I miss him lining up in the Hallway. Having to check, you know, count down 10 seconds. And then that’s, you know, rubbing my neck; And getting me, my right mindset. But it’s part of my journey as a mixed martial artist.”

Johnson revealed that he has to rely on the experience and skills that he has picked up over the years in order to fill Hume’s place. In addition, his corners/teammates help him.

“I revert back to my fundamentals when I’m fighting without Matt being in my corner,” Johnson concluded.

Also Read – Demetrious Johnson Reveals the Origin Behind His Nickname ‘Mighty Mouse’

Obviously, “Mighty Mouse” knows how to fight; He is a 12-time Flyweight World Champion. That being said, Johnson’s bond with his coach was a major reason for his success and growth as a martial artist.

Matt Hume was the reason Demetrious Johnson became a true martial artist

Initially in his career, Demetrious Johnson was doing both MMA and his day jobs. Yet, the part-time fighter achieved a lot of success in the UFC and WEC.

Hume, realizing Johnson’s raw abilities early in his career, saw potential in him to become a great martial artist. Hence, he convinced Johnson to quit his day job and take martial arts as his career rather than a small gig.

“I would never tell someone to quit their job unless I knew they were going to make it,” said Hume.

Though initially, Johnson was reluctant, he eventually followed his coach’s advice. Subsequently, he became a multi-time World Champion. Thus, Hume saw something special and pure in Johnson and helped him achieve it.

As Hume had said, “It’s the goal of becoming a perfect martial artist, with perfect technique.”

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