On Friday, Sept. 6 during the ONE Championship broadcast event, former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement from MMA. He was also announced as the first-ever inductee into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.
The announcement isn't a great shock as he'd been out of action for quite some time and had previously announced he was turning his attention away from MMA, but it's an important milestone for MMA history nevertheless.
โLike I said last time when I came to Denver, Colo., I told you guys it was potentially my last fight, and I was not lying. I am done. I am done competing in mixed martial arts and I want to thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity,โ Johnson told the crowd in Denver, Colorado.
Hear what Demetrious Johnson had to say at ONE 168: Denver ๐ฃ๏ธ
โ ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 7, 2024
Tune in to Prime Video and Sky Sports NOW to catch the rest of ONE 168: Denver!#ONE168 | ๐ด LIVE NOW
๐บ How to watch ๐ https://t.co/NOuJb13LII
๐บ๐ธ๐จ๐ฆ Watch Live on Prime ๐ https://t.co/0ZILlG5o3R
๐ฌ๐ง๐ฎ๐ช Watch Live onโฆ pic.twitter.com/5HOxf6aH4A
Who but the GOAT? ๐ Demetrious Johnson is your first inductee to the ONE Championship Hall of Fame!
โ ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 7, 2024
Tune in to Prime Video and Sky Sports NOW to catch the rest of ONE 168: Denver!#ONE168 | ๐ด LIVE NOW
๐บ How to watch ๐ https://t.co/NOuJb13LII
๐บ๐ธ๐จ๐ฆ Watch Live on Prime ๐โฆ pic.twitter.com/foCzN4Ol38
Johnson is one of the most decorated UFC champions of all-time and is widely considered to the be greatest flyweight of all time. He was part of the first-ever trade when the UFC and ONE Championship swapped Johnson for Ben Askren. After the announcement was made several fighters, media and fans took to Twitter to react to the news.
Congrats @MightyMouse ๐๐๐
โ Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) September 7, 2024
Demetrious Johnson whooped damn near every good fighter to come out of my home state of New Mexico. ๐ pic.twitter.com/PJZ2cpxVjO
โ MacMally ๐ (@MacMallyMMA) September 7, 2024
Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement from MMA Friday night.
โ ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 7, 2024
AN ABSOLUTE LEGEND ๐ pic.twitter.com/r34qiixxRg
UFC flyweight records held by Demetrious Johnson:
โ Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) September 7, 2024
-Most wins (13)
-Most finishes (7)
-Most submission wins (5)
-Win Streak (13)
-Title Fight Wins (12)
-Fight Night Bonuses (9)
-Average Fight Tims (18:37)
-Total Fight Time (4:39:12)
-Control Time (1:26:54)
-Top Position Timeโฆ
Prime Demetrious Johnson was the most skilled fighter Iโve ever watched.
โ Nick Baldwin (@NickBaldwinMMA) September 7, 2024
He should be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame no later than July 2025.
Absolute legend.
The GOAT talk is tiresome, but Demetrious Johnson is the most talented pure mixed martial artist weโve seen IMO. We did a podcast before but I finally met him in person. ๐ฅ pic.twitter.com/eAV1vdRHK8
โ MacMally ๐ (@MacMallyMMA) August 17, 2024
Johnson's last fight was in May 2023 where he defeated Adriano Moraes. He leaves the sport with a record of 25-3-1 and holds wins over the likes of Tim Elliott, Henry Cejudo, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi and Rodtang Jitmuangnon, among others.