Early March may feel as distant today as the second Ice Age, but Demetrious Johnson instantly recalls the moment he heard the news.

More and more people were talking about an incurable disease called COVID-19 and wondering how it might manifest on American soil. The country's first official case—a man in Washington state—had already been documented, and now there was news of the first major outbreak. The site of the outbreak, Life Care Center of Kirkland, solidified Washington state as the de facto ground zero for the coronavirus in the United States.

About a 10-minute drive from Life Care Center of Kirkland is an MMA gym called AMC Kickboxing & Pankration. That has served as Johnson's training home for all of his record 11 UFC title defenses.

So when he heard about the outbreak at the nearby assisted living facility, Johnson's reaction was pretty swift:

Oh, s--t.

For Johnson and other locals, the coronavirus wake-up call came early. The rest of the world, MMA and otherwise, hasn't always been as quick on the uptake. That's certainly true of Johnson's former employer, the UFC, as well as his current one, Singapore-based ONE Championship, at least to an extent.

"It's definitely hard," Johnson recently told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "We've had the dark cloud over our heads. Not just with the virus but social distancing and everything else."

AMC Pankration shuttered its doors soon after the Life Care Center outbreak and well before it was a frequent occurrence in the state, much less anywhere else. As a point of reference, play stoppages in the NBA and March Madness—both widely viewed as early examples of dramatic action on the coronavirus, particularly in the sports world—didn't occur until mid-March.

"We stopped training two weeks before Gov. [Jay] Inslee shut it down," Johnson said, referencing the state's March 16 directive to close gyms and other businesses. "But when I first saw the news [about Life Care Center] I was like, 'Oh, s--t.' We were way ahead of the curve, though. No one had canceled any fights or games or anything yet."

Of course, sports fans and curiosity seekers of all stripes are well-versed by now in UFC president Dana White's frothy personal struggle to continue doing business in the face of, you know, a major disease pandemic. Just last Thursday, cooler heads prevented UFC 249 from going off as scheduled on April 18. The company has also suspended all other events indefinitely. But this, as they say, is another story.

It looked, at least for a little while, like the fights might go on for Johnson and ONE Championship. The Singaporean government has garnered global recognition for its effective (if hard-to-imitate) response to the pandemic—a simple truth that one imagines would make a difference when holding fights on Singaporean soil, as ONE was planning to do. (ONE never detailed the actual measures it would have taken or what, if any, role the government of Singapore would have played in the effort.) As the UFC thrashed around, Johnson's April 11 flyweight title bout with Adriano Moraes quietly stayed on course.

But we all know where a plan is going to get you these days. As the virus spread, ONE officials announced they would move to exclusively closed-door events in Singapore. Then, Johnson's date with Moraes was pushed back. Not long after—but still three days before the UFC threw in the towel—ONE announced what was essentially a suspension of all fight operations.

"To extinguish the recent growth of the coronavirus, the Singapore Government has wisely ordered a partial lockdown of the country, whereby effective tomorrow onwards, only essential services (such as food, healthcare, and transportation) are allowed to operate," said ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong in a statement.

Such is the nature of things these days. And so, like innumerable other fighters and other humans, there Johnson sits, all trained up and no place to go. But, as he himself readily admits, it could be a lot worse, and he extends that sentiment to decision-making from both ONE and the UFC.

"I think at the end of the day, any company, whether it's the UFC or the NBA or ONE or whoever, they're doing everything in their power to make sure everyone is healthy," he said.

Hardcore fight fans know Johnson not just by the Hall of Fame resume but by his reputation as an affable family man. Those descriptions were evident during a recent phone interview, with Dopplerized kid voices streaking by in the background. An avid gamer, he's knee-deep in several game titles, he said, most notably Escape from Tarkov. Breakfast is more of a happening these days, as is homeschooling. In short, he's making do, and given that he's been at this for longer than most other Americans, maybe he's ahead of the curve in finding a new normal.

"Everything's closed up, but it's fine being around the house," he said. "We're making sure we wash our hands. We've got a little schoolroom now. ... We're all just trying to find a way. It'll get better."