- Demetrious Johnson has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts
- The 38-year-old held the UFC flyweight championship from 2012 to 2018.
Demetrious Johnson’s illustrious mixed martial arts career has come to an end.
At ONE 168, the 38-year-old stepped into the cage in his hometown of Denver, Colorado, to announce his retirement from the sport in an emotional speech.
After making his professional debut in 2009 following an undefeated amateur season, Johnson would compile a record of 25 wins and four losses with one draw inside the cage.
On Friday, Johnson became the first inductee into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame and thanked those who helped him along the way.
“Thank you to you, you who made me a better person, a better athlete,” Johnson said.
Demetrious Johnson has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.
The 38-year-old is widely regarded as the greatest flyweight fighter of all time.
Johnson defended his 125-pound title 11 times in the UFC Octagon between 2013 and 2017.
‘Thank you to my wife for always encouraging me to pursue my passions, my dreams. Thank you to everyone at ONE Championship, the staff, the competition team, the social media team, all of you, I appreciate you all.
‘Thanks to Chatri (Sityodtong – ONE President) for giving me the opportunity to showcase my martial arts on this platform. And yes, guys like, as I said, me too.The last time I came here to Denver, Colorado, I told you that this was potentially my last flight, and I wasn’t lying, like I was already done.
“I’m not competing in mixed martial arts anymore and I want to thank them for giving me this opportunity.”
Johnson is best known for his time in the UFC, joining the promotion following the merger with the WEC in 2011.
Following wins over Kid Yamamoto and Miguel Torres, Johnson would earn his first shot at gold against Dominick Cruz, performing admirably considering a significant size difference en route to a five-round decision loss.
However, once the UFC announced it would establish a 125-pound weight class, Johnson was on the hunt.
Johnson began his flyweight career with a draw against Ian McCall, and emerged victorious in the rematch before capturing gold and embarking on one of the most dominant title reigns in UFC history.
Between 2013 and 2017, Johnson would defend his title 11 times, including a last-second submission of Kyoji Horiguchi and a first-round TKO of Henry Cejudo.
His career as a champion would come to an end in 2018 after a controversial decision loss to Henry Cejudo.
After leaving the UFC, Johnson would continue to find success with ONE Championship.
In 2018, Johnson and Cejudo would meet again at UFC 227, and this time the Olympic gold medalist emerged victorious by the narrowest of margins on the judges’ scorecards.
Despite holding multiple UFC records, Cejudo would later be involved in the largest promotional exchange deal in MMA history when he joined ONE and Ben Askren went the opposite route.
After debuting in the Singapore-based promotion, Johnson’s dominance continued unabated, with a solitary KO loss to Adriano Moraes avenged twice.
Johnson’s last appearance in the cage came in May of last year, when he defeated Moraes in their trilogy fight to retain the ONE flyweight title.