Mixed martial arts legend Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson may have shocked the world when he called time on his career this past weekend, but the decision wasn’t made without careful deliberations and reflections.

The ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion announced his retirement from professional MMA in the middle of the ONE Championship Circle at ONE 168: Denver on Friday, September 6, inside Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. 

Demetrious Johnson takes a final look at his retirement

Johnson gave an emotional farewell speech, before choosing not to leave his World Title on the mats, as is tradition…

Instead, he declared that he was leaving on top with gold in hand, and ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong honored him with a trophy that named him the first-ever inductee into ONE Championship’s Hall of Fame soon after. 

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During the post-event press conference, the American superstar revealed that while it was a difficult decision to make, it was made that bit easier thanks to the guidance he received from other MMA greats.

“It was a little bit [of a sigh of relief]. I knew already that I was in that chapter in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m going to miss it because I know I can still fight, but there comes a point in time where the athlete just goes, ‘I’m done. I don’t want to stay too long at the party,’” Johnson said.  

“I just want to enjoy what I’ve done and walk away. And I talked to a lot of guys – GSP was one. He was like, ‘There’s always gonna be another guy.’ That’s why he retired. Urijah Faber, he was like, ‘We only get a short amount of time in our life where we could be a professional athlete and fight at the highest level.’

“So it is pretty hard, but I am relieved to be able to say I’m finally done.” 

Will the fighting community ever see ‘Mighty Mouse’ competing again?

Though 38 years old, “Mighty Mouse” has recently shown he has a lot of fight left in him.

He has been active on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu circuit and won gold in both the brown and black belt categories in the IBJJF Masters. It’s clear that his days in the all-encompassing sport of MMA are over, but the future looks bright for him. 

With submission grappling, becoming a big part of ONE Championship in recent years and Johnson’s talent on the mats now undeniable, there may even be a possibility that fans get to see him competing in the Circle once again someday.