Demetrious Johnson turned professional in 2009 and after 15 lengthy years, he lastly introduced his retirement from MMA throughout ONE 168: Denver. The previous UFC flyweight champ has 12 title combat wins and boasts one of many longest win streaks (13) within the promotion.
Throughout his illustrious UFC run, Johnson walked by the flyweight division with ease. Though his one-sided beat downs didn’t collect a ton of PPVs, he’s now thought to be among the finest fighters of all time.
Many imagine that “Mighty Mouse” can nonetheless hold with one of the best flyweight fighters on the earth, however right here’s why the UFC legend retired from MMA at 38…
Demetrious Johnson Reveals Why He Didn’t Discover Combined Martial Arts Enjoyable Anymore
In a YouTube interview recorded earlier than his official announcement, Johnson talked about his retirement from MMA with Merab Dvalishvili. Immediately, he talked about that MMA isn’t enjoyable for him anymore and he prefers competing in Jiu-Jitsu over it.
Coaching and achievement are additionally two main the reason why Johnson retired regardless of being the reigning ONE flyweight MMA champ. He didn’t acquire contentment from preventing as a result of he was barely studying something by spending 25 minutes or fewer within the cage with opponents.
“I’m not going to combat anymore. And the rationale why is, um, I don’t discover combined martial arts enjoyable anymore. Motive why is as a result of I discover extra achievement in doing Jiu-Jitsu as a result of I really feel it’s tougher. I discover extra achievement in serving to and coaching with completely different folks.”
As a substitute, “Mighty Mouse” will now attempt to grasp his BJJ which he claims to be a harder sport, and reap the advantages of coaching as a retired fighter. He believes athletes really feel safer about showcasing their skills when there’s no risk of their coaching associate dealing with them sooner or later.
Right here’s how he defined the idea utilizing Dvalishvili’s instance:
“If I ever wished to really feel, how does, I need to really feel Merab’s fuel tank. I need to see how good he’s. I need to really feel his power. The one approach that might ever occur is that if me and also you have been to combat one another. If I used to be knowledgeable athlete, proper, it might simply by no means occur. But when I’m like, hey, I don’t care about profitable. I don’t care about, you already know, ever have a chance to combat you. Hey Merab, can I come practice with you? Yeah, you’re like, Demetrious come practice. After which once we practice collectively, you’re not going to have like, I must beat you, you’re attempting to study from me. I don’t know, I’ve by no means educated outdoors of coaching camp once I would combat.”
Primarily based on these statements, it’s protected to imagine that Johnson will certainly compete in particular martial arts like Jiu-Jitsu. Nonetheless, it’s unlikely that followers will ever get to see him mixing all of it up inside a cage.
“As soon as I prepare for a combat and I beat someone. It’s like, okay, I imply I beat him, I made this cash, which is nice. However I didn’t get to study something in that 25 minutes, if that is sensible.”
