Demetrious Johnson only lost one day of UFC on FOX 8 training with birth of son

SEATTLE – UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson hardly missed a step between the birth of his first child and his fight camp for John Moraga at UFC on FOX 8.

Johnson (17-2-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he missed but one day of training to be with wife Destiny as she gave birth to his son Tyren after 14 hours in labor.

So for those who think his focus might be off for his second attempted title defense, they can think again.

“I didn’t have to miss one OBGYN appointment, and people were like, ‘Oh, you’re distracted,’” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘Last time I checked, this is life, and fighting is part of my life, and so is my wife.’”

Of course, it was an entirely new experience in his life, which wasn’t exactly what he expected at times.

“The labor was a little more intense than I thought it was,” said Johnson, who headlines the FOX-televised card against Moraga (13-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) on Saturday at Seattle’s KeyArena, which is a short drive from his home in Kirkland.

And yet, there have been pleasant surprises for the 26-year-old fighter as a new father.

“Usually, when babies come out, they’re like, ‘Wahhhh,’” Johnson said. “He was like, ‘Wah,’ and just started chilling. He was a chill baby, and he is a chill baby. I’ve been around babies not my whole life, but I’ve been around a lot of babies.

“So people are like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know what I’m going to do. The baby won’t shut up,’ and I’m just like, ‘OK, it’s a guessing game. Do you want a bottle? Do you have a poopy diaper? Do you want to be held? All right, you want to be held. Problem solved.’”

That lack of stress has come in handy while Johnson has undergone final preparations for Moraga, who’s undefeated in the octagon and has but one loss to previous Johnson opponent John Dodson.

“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 won the inaugural 125-pound championship this past September, was forced to delay the fight with Moraga due to a shoulder injury and requested to fight on the Seattle card so he could support his wife. It’s the first time he’s fought in front of a hometown crowd in the UFC. On Saturday, Destiny will be watching him tangle with Moraga.

“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.”

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