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Demetrious Johnson On His Friendship With Kenny Omega

Demetrious Johnson and Kenny Omega have bonded over their shared love of gaming

Justin Barrasso

Demetrious Johnson On His Friendship With Kenny Omega
Demetrious Johnson On His Friendship With Kenny Omega /

SI’s MMA Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes runs every Monday.

Demetrious Johnson rarely ever tastes defeat in competitive matchups.

A former famed UFC title holder and the reigning ONE flyweight champion, Johnson recently added to his accolades by winning gold in a highly competitive Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament. But he met his match two weeks ago, falling to AEW superstar Kenny Omega in a battle of Street Fighter 6.

In a compelling contest that aired on the Crown’s Pit Crew Twitch stream, Johnson and Omega displayed their elite gaming abilities in a high-level chess match of Street Fighter 6. Johnson played as Guile, while Omega chose Manon. The back-and-forth affair concluded with Omega’s Manon knocking out Johnson’s Guile.

“Kenny is a master,” said Johnson. “I couldn’t get it done.”

The contest benefited a charity of the winner’s choice, and Omega selected Hull’s Haven Border Collie Rescue–a volunteer-run non-profit rescue group in Winnipeg. The pro wrestling/MMA crossover bout was vastly entertaining, and it allowed both men to test their skills in various game modes. Johnson even played a round with a Guitar Hero guitar controller, but the final round was an even playing field, and Omega emerged victorious.

“Guile was my main, and Manon is a grappler,” said Johnson. “I’ve had a lot of success with Manon players online, but Kenny is exceptional.”

In a short amount of time, Johnson and Omega have forged a bond. The two highly competitive athletes are both icons of their respective fields, and they found common ground in their shared affinity for gaming.

“The friendship formed by us just playing Street Fighter 6–that is my favorite game right now, and we are both passionate about fighting games,” said Johnson. “I had heard of him cause my kiddos have his toys, so I was familiar with the name, but we hadn’t met prior to the event.”

While Johnson (25-4-1) built his success in North America as a star in the UFC, then traveled to Asia later in his career when he signed with ONE Championship, Omega took the opposite route. He built his name wrestling in Japan, especially during his rise in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, before starring in North America with AEW.

Omega returns to the ring this Wednesday on Dynamite against the talented Kyle Fletcher. But Johnson’s future, however, is full of speculation. There is a possibility that he could make his wrestling debut in AEW, a topic he would not answer beyond offering a laugh and flashing his trademark smile. He sat ringside at AEW’s WrestleDream pay-per-view earlier this month in Seattle, and he is an intelligent, athletic marvel who has the potential to thrive in the ring.

For fight fans eager to see Johnson return, ONE is running four fight cards in the US next year. After headlining ONE Fight Night 10 in May, which was ONE’s debut in America, it would make sense to see Johnson defend his belt on one of the upcoming cards in the US.

“I am the champion,” said Johnson. “We’ll have to wait and see.”

Throughout his legendary career, Johnson has always been most dangerous following a defeat. For now, his focus is on building his expertise with a new Street Fighter character–Dee Jay–in the event of a rematch against Omega.

“I need to master my new main, Deejay,” said Johnson. “Then I need to put more strategy together for the matchup. I have a lot of work to do in order to get ready for Kenny again.”

Edson Barboza absorbed a great deal of punishment in the first round of his fight on Saturday against Sodiq Yusuff, then rose from the ashes to win the next four rounds.

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This was a spectacular showing from both men, especially Barboza, who won by unanimous decision. He was nearly finished in the opening minutes by Yusuff, yet recovered in remarkable fashion. The victory gave Edson his ninth Fight of the Night bonus, a new record.

For Yusuff (13-3), it was a blow to lose to the 37-year-old Barboza. By no means it is a crushing loss, as Barboza (24-11) is a revered figure in the sport. But seven years his junior, and with an absolutely dominating first round, this was a fight that Yusuff needed to win.

Barboza should jump both Yusuff and Dan Ige, who is also coming off a loss, in the rankings, elevating him to no. 11 in the UFC featherweight rankings.

Who could have predicted that the highlight of Logan Paul’s boxing match against Dillon Danis would be calling out Rey Mysterio?

This was an abomination. Danis did a masterful job promoting the bout, then followed up with absolutely no offense whatsoever. He was disqualified in the sixth and final round for a guillotine attempt (in a boxing match), and there were brief fireworks only during the post-fight melee in the ring. Overall, this was a major disappointment, as was the KSI-Tommy Fury main event.

Paul needs a break from boxing. Fortunately, he has his WWE awaiting his return.

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Justin Barrasso
JUSTIN BARRASSO

Justin Barrasso has been writing for Sports Illustrated since 2014. While his primary focus is pro wrestling and MMA, he has also covered MLB, NBA, and the NFL. He can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com and followed on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.

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