“The unfortunate thing is that you have two grown men fighting each other outside a restaurant, or one sneaking up on him,” Johnson told the Post after Wednesday’s ONE X press conference at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

“And it’s like, you had 25 minutes, you guys fought. When it’s done, it’s done. You lost the fight fair and square. Now you’re about to get felony charges pressed against you.

“So it’s like, do I think it’s cool? I don’t think it’s cool, right? I’ve never thought it’s cool, just people fighting in general outside of competition.”

“Mighty Mouse” Johnson – who returns in a special mixed rules bout against Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmanuagnon on Saturday’s card in Singapore – had cruised to the flyweight grand prix title in Asian martial arts promotion ONE in 2019, before a shock knockout by champion Adriano Moraes.

It wasn’t Johnson’s first loss, and the 35-year-old American (23-4-1) has learned to take defeat on the chin – especially with co-headliner Moraes also in the Lion City for a title defence against Japanese challenger Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE X.

“I’ve always had respect for people who have beaten me,” Johnson said. “S***, I went to go see Coldplay with Joseph Benavidez. When I see Dominick Cruz I say, ‘Why did you suplex me, Dom? Why did you do that?’”

“It’s a business, it’s sports,” Johnson added. “Even guys I’ve lost wrestling matches to, when I see them it’s like, ‘That was a good wrestling match back in high school’. So for me, Adriano is a class act. I love his style, love him as a person. No hard feelings whatsoever.

“Even when I see Yuya Wakamatsu, I choked his a** out and we’re still cool. I saw him the other day, he was at the pool. Saw I believe his wife or his girlfriend, and he was gonna show me his child, but his child was running off doing his thing.”

Unlike Wakamatsu, whom Johnson beat in his ONE debut via second-round submission in March 2019, the MMA legend has left his family at home in Washington.

“My wife doesn’t do these Covid restrictions,” he said. “She’ll be like, ‘I got a negative test, right? OK, I’m gonna go do whatever I want, thank you bye’. So she’s at home with the kids.”

This weekend’s blockbuster card – which features 20 fights – will see ONE welcome a half-capacity crowd for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with restrictions eased in the organisation’s home city.

Johnson, who fought three times in his first year in ONE in front of raucous crowds in Tokyo and Manila, welcomes the increasing return to normal.

“The biggest thing I feel is different leading up to this spike than the last one is that I always try to come here and give myself 10 or 11 days before the fight for acclimation, to get used to the time zone change,” he said. “From coming here and being stuck in a hotel room for 10 days and then going out and competing, this is different.

“We’re going to the pool, we’re hanging out with our teammates, we’re eating, so it’s way better.”

As for Saturday night, Johnson is predicting fireworks against Thai striking superstar Rodtang.

“I’m gonna go out there and fight,” he said. “I mean, it’s not gonna be easy. Rodtang is with a great camp at Fairtex – you see what they’ve done with Stamp Fairfax going out there and winning the world grand prix.

“So I’m gonna go out there and fight. The first round is gonna be tough, the second round is gonna be tough. All rounds are gonna be tough.”