(CNN) — Demetrious Johnson is well-known for his fast hands in the ring, however when the gloves are off his palms are fairly nimble too.
„Mighty Mouse“Johnson left UFC to get ONE Championship at 2018 and as part of his move became the face of the new esports venture.
The UFC flyweight winner has had a longstanding endorsement and is a hardcore gamer, also a streamer that is Twitch.
„Esports as a whole has come on leaps and bounds from when it started,“ Johnson told CNN Sport’s Patrick Snell.
„At the start, people were like’no one is going to watch someone else play with video games. It’s absolutely absurd. I’m not going to do it‘
„But now you’ve got companies such as Twitch and Mixer that are generating so much revenue with advertisement revenue from such wonderful streamer personalities.
„A lot of A Single Championship’s fans are millennials and millennials adore gaming. I like gaming so that I was like’yeah I completely support this.'“
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A new market
While 1 Championship has come to be the“biggest global sports media property in history,“ they’ve been able to move that dominance to the rest of the globe.
After returning to this iconic Ry??goku Kokugikan in Tokyo in October to their 100th live event, One Championship is looking to penetrate the North America marketplace.
The company has signed a broadcast deal with TNT, meaning a portion of their displays are streamed on B/R Live, while programs are in place for a show in New York to get 2020.
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„There’s the north American promotion, that’s the UFC, and that’s the king of this hill,“ Johnson explained.
„Then you have the Eastern side, which can be One Championship, which is the king of the hill there.
„One Championship are far more focused on telling stories. It’s the home of martial arts.
„It doesn’t just celebrate combined martial arts, but also celebrates Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Summit Wrestling and they have also had a boxing match.“
