Demetrius Might Mouse Johnson. Soul of a Champion

Soul of a champion: This past weekend saw one of the greatest UFC champions ever lose his belt in an extraordinarily close bout after a record eleven title defenses. This post is not about the match, how it should have been scored or whether Demetrious Johnson is the best pound for pound fighter in the world. This is just about how we all can improve ourselves by looking at Mr Johnson as a role model. When I first started seeing Mr Johnson at UFC events he showed inconsistent brilliance. He beat Japanese Superstar Norifumi Yamamoto to show he was a great talent. Then in his next match against Miguel Torres he showed great takedowns but then got swept into mount on multiple occasions. Yet despite the early flaws – EVERY TIME HE WENT OUT TO COMPETE YOU COULD LITERALLY SEE THE FLAWS BEING REPLACED BY NEW STRENGTHS. He had the work ethic and in conjunction with his coach Matt Hume, the wisdom to see what needed to be improved and the best way to do it. This was an athlete who was not satisfied with winning. He recognized that only flawless wins would give him the resources he would need later at championship level. The second great trait that I saw in him was his overall positivity. Mr Johnson had a hard upbringing and many personal difficulties in his life that he never talks about. He could legitimately feel encumbered by them – but never does. I have never met a person so strong in his ability to see positive elements in challenging circumstances. For him, everything was a blessing and a test of his character to be surpassed through self improvement. This is a man who dominates the circumstances of his life through his positive attitude rather than allow the circumstances of his life to dominate him. We don’t know much about the future – but for person with traits like these – it’s always forward