Flyweight champion forced to miss a day’s training for the birth of first child.
Reigning UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson said he has missed a training day in the lead-up to his title defence against John Moraga in Seattle this weekend.
However, the the fighter known as ‘Mighty Mouse’ had a good reason not to be in the gym with the birth of his first child taking his attention away from his opponent.
Johnson’s wife Destiny gave birth to their son Tyren after 14 hours of labour, but the champion said it was back to work as soon as possible.
“After the baby was born, I was at the gym the next day, which was my hard sparring session and was my last sparring session of my whole entire training for this fight, so it went well,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who has held the 125 pound belt since its inception last September said fighting in front of his home town fans would have spooked him not so long ago.
But the 26-year-old says he is comfortable now with the added pressure of being the face of the card for reasons other than being a champion fighting in a main event.
“If you would have asked me two years ago, I would have been like, ‘I absolutely don’t want to fight here,'” he said.
“Because I wasn’t mature enough in dealing with the fans and all my friends and family watch me get beat up live. Because I keep it real … I’m either going to win or lose. But now, I just don’t care. I’ve been in this sport a long time, and this is how I make a living and provide for my family.”
Moraga has come largely out of nowhere for a crack at belt but he does bring with him an impressive record of 13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC.
Check out some awesome highlights of Johnson so far in his mixed martial arts and UFC career.
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