Demetrious Johnson (r.) became a father for the first time eight days before his UFC flyweight title defense against John Moraga on FOX. (AP)
Demetrious Johnson was trying to keep the two things separate. And for awhile it was working.
The UFC flyweight champion never missed a training session in preparation for Saturday’s UFC on FOX 8 main event against John Moraga. He also didn’t shirk any of his duties as a soon-to-be dad, making all of his wife Destiny’s OBGYN appointments.
Fighting and fatherhood. They didn’t cross paths – until the delivery room.
One of the nurses at the Kirkland, Wash.-area hospital was a huge UFC champion and she told all the other nurses that Johnson was the first flyweight champion in organization history. So, while Destiny was in labor in a room a few feet away, Johnson was shaking hands and posing for photos with everyone wearing scrubs in sight.
“They were all saying, ‘Well I gotta get a picture, too,’” Johnson told The Post.
The speedy fighter known as “Mighty Mouse” was able to dart back to his wife before she gave birth to a son, whom they named Tyren.
That was Friday – just eight days before his huge bout with Moraga. Johnson says the pregnancy and birth has not been a distraction at all.
“It’s not something that came as a shock,” he said. “We prepared ourselves. We wanted this. Obviously, we’re super excited about it.”
What will make things easier is that the fight is in Seattle, just minutes away from home. Destiny will be cheering on her husband in the front row and little Tyren will be watching from the hotel room with his grandparents.
They will be rooting for Johnson to win his second title defense and fourth fight overall in the UFC. One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Johnson was good enough in 2011 to become No. 1 contender at bantamweight, 10 pounds heavier than flyweight’s 125-pound maximum.
Now that Johnson, 26, is a father, it’s harder to separate his profession and his new role. It’s something he, as someone who never knew his biological father growing up, is ready to embrace.
“You want to make sure you’re able to provide for your son,” Johnson said. “The decisions you make, everything you do affects your son, your family. There’s nothing negative about it.”
This will be the second time Johnson headlines a FOX card after beating John Dodson in January. He’s hoping to be featured on pay per view soon, perhaps in the co-main event on one of the cards before the end of the year. He says he’ll also be excited for top billing on an event for new network FOX Sports 1.
Johnson he understands why the UFC hasn’t granted the flyweights that main event status for a PPV yet — because the division is so new.
“You gotta build these guys up,” Johnson said. “You don’t want to give the flyweights a pay-per-view main event and then it bombs.”
No matter what network, though, you can be sure there will be a handful of nurses from Washington watching their new favorite fighter in the future with keen interest.