Demetrious Johnson has long cemented his place in the minds of MMA fans as one of the greatest of all time and the greatest flyweight the sport has ever seen.
Many in the MMA community are celebrating and reflecting on Johnson’s performances and accomplishments in the sport after he announced his retirement at ONE Championship’s event in Denver, Colorado on September 6.
Though the latter years of Johnson’s career saw him in Asia’s ONE Championship, he is best known as the inaugural and long-reigning king of the UFC’s flyweight division.
In an interview with John Morgan, UFC CEO Dana White was given his chance to react to the retirement of “Mighty Mouse.” White stated that he has long praised Johnson’s abilities, even claiming to be the former flyweight champ’s biggest defender.
“If you go back to when he was here, I was defending him from the fans,” White said. “Who’s defended Demetrious Johnson more than me? Good for him. Incredible career he had, and I’ve never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson.”
Demetrious Johnson ‘Absolutely’ Will Find Himself In UFC Hall Of Fame, Says Dana White
Johnson made his professional MMA debut in 2007, winning 10 straight before a loss to Brad Pickett. He then won four more fights, including his first two UFC matchups against Norifumi Yamamoto and Miguel Torres, before unsuccessfully challenging then-UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in October 2011.
Johnson subsequently dropped to flyweight upon the UFC’s establishment of its 125-pound division in 2012, defeating Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez to become the inaugural champion.
This would start Johnson’s six-year dominance over the weight class, going to defend the championship 11 straight times, setting a still-standing UFC record in the process.
Johnson lost the championship to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in August 2018 and was traded by the UFC to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren.
“Mighty Mouse” went on to win the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix in 2019 but was knocked out for the only time in his career against Adriano Moraes in their 2021 title fight. Johnson won their rematch in August 2022 to capture the ONE flyweight title.
The American defended the title in a trilogy fight with Moraes in May 2023 — the final fight of Johnson’s career and ONE’s debut in the US.
Though Johnson’s UFC run ended in the trade and in ONE Championship, White said that with his accomplishments, there is no doubt he’ll be in the UFC Hall of Fame.
“Absolutely,” White said matter-of-factly.
