ONE Championship title contender Demetrious Johnson has effectively killed any chance that he will ever return to the UFC.
At UFC 256, Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno tore the house down in an instant classic that is surely on the shortlist of best flyweight fights of all time. Nearly all of Demetrious Johnson’s fights in the division would not qualify for this list because he was too busy turning in one-sided dominations over his foes. That all ended when Johnson lost a razor-close decision to Henry Cejudo in a very rare classic battle for him in the division. At the time, no one could have guessed that it would be the last time we would ever see Demetrious Johnson in the UFC. Fast forward to 2020, and the former flyweight king has confirmed that he will never fight at 125 again.
“I’ll tell you what – I’m not coming back to 125. I’ll tell you that right now…No. It’s too much work.” Johnson said in a recent interview with ESPN. “It’s not too much work, but I feel like my body works better just natural, right? I mean if I’m walking around at 128 pounds – and I have no fat on me, I’m shredded as is right now – and to cut down to 125, it’s just not healthy for the liver. I’m getting older now. It’s just like, I’m not worried about it.”
Shortly after his aforementioned bout against Henry Cejudo at UFC 227, Demetrious Johnson was one half of a trade that involved former ONE Championship welterweight champion Ben Askren. Since then, Johnson has been competing at 135 in what is ONE’s flyweight division and the UFC’s bantamweight division. Johnson could theoretically still return to the UFC and compete as a bantamweight this time around, but Johnson shut that possibility down and already knows where he will be ending his MMA career.
“I got a lot (of fights left on my One Championship contract). I’m gonna retire in One Championship. I’m not coming back to…This is my last stop.” Demetrious Johnson concluded.
Do you think Demetrious Johnson would be the flyweight champion of the UFC today if he had stayed in the promotion?
