Hear what Demetrious Johnson had to say at ONE 168: Denver 🗣️
To watch more of ONE 168: Denver, head over to Prime Video and Sky Sports NOW.#ONE168
| 🔴 Live now
📺 How to watch 👉 https://t.co/NOuJb13LII
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on Prime 👉 https://t.co/0ZILlG5o3R
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Watch live… pic.twitter.com/5HOxf6aH4A
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
September 7, 2024
Demetrious Johnson announced Friday that he is ending one of the greatest mixed martial arts careers of all time.
Johnson announced his retirement on Friday during an appearance at ONE Championship 168 in Denver. Johnson made his professional debut in 2009 under the King of the Cage banner before moving to World Extreme Cagefighting, which was later acquired by UFC. “Might Mouse” Johnson defeated Joseph Benavidez in the tournament final in 2012 to become the inaugural UFC flyweight champion.
This led to one of the most dominant records in the history of the sport, including 11 title defenses, the most in UFC flyweight history. Johnson relinquished the title after losing a split decision to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in 2018, after which he moved to ONE Championship in a trade with then-welterweight champion Ben Askren.
Johnson began his ONE Championship career by winning the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix with three straight victories to earn the right to challenge then-flyweight champion Adriano Moraes. For the first time in his career, Moraes finished Johnson with a knee strike on a downed opponent, a move that “Mighty Mouse” adamantly advocated for legalization in all promotions. Johnson got his revenge in a 2011 rematch by knocking out Moraes with a flying knee to win the ONE Flyweight title and later defending it by unanimous decision in a trilogy series.
The flyweight GOAT was in tears during an emotional retirement speech as he thanked his family, teammates and fans. Johnson is also the first person to be inducted into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame. The 38-year-old revealed that he was asked to leave his belt in the cage but refused.
“They wanted me to leave the belt here. I’m not gonna do that bullshit,” Johnson said. “I came into this sport as a champion, and I’m gonna leave this black ass as a champion too.”
DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON: “They wanted me to leave the belt here but I ain’t no bullshit. I came into this sport as a champion and I’m leaving my black ass as a champion.” 😭😭
— Championship Round (@ChampRDS)
September 7, 2024
Source link
