Demetrious Johnson has lengthy cemented his place within the minds of MMA followers as one of many biggest of all time and the best flyweight the game has ever seen.
Many within the MMA group are celebrating and reflecting on Johnson’s performances and accomplishments within the sport after he introduced his retirement at ONE Championship’s occasion in Denver, Colorado on September 6.
Although the latter years of Johnson’s profession noticed him in Asia’s ONE Championship, he’s greatest referred to 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 probability to react to the retirement of “Mighty Mouse.” White said that he has lengthy praised Johnson’s talents, even claiming to be the previous flyweight champ’s greatest defender.
“When you return to when he was right here, I used to be defending him from the followers,” White mentioned. “Who’s defended Demetrious Johnson greater than me? Good for him. Unbelievable profession he had, and I’ve by no means had an issue with Demetrious Johnson.”
Demetrious Johnson ‘Completely’ Will Discover Himself In UFC Corridor Of Fame, Says Dana White
Johnson made his skilled MMA debut in 2007, successful 10 straight earlier than a loss to Brad Pickett. He then gained 4 extra fights, together with his first two UFC matchups in opposition to Norifumi Yamamoto and Miguel Torres, earlier than unsuccessfully difficult then-UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz in October 2011.
Johnson subsequently dropped to flyweight upon the UFC’s institution of its 125-pound division in 2012, defeating Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez to turn into the inaugural champion.
This could begin Johnson’s six-year dominance over the burden class, going to defend the championship 11 straight instances, setting a still-standing UFC report within the course of.
Johnson misplaced the championship to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in August 2018 and was traded by the UFC to ONE Championship in alternate for Ben Askren.
“Mighty Mouse” went on to win the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix in 2019 however was knocked out for the one time in his profession in opposition to Adriano Moraes of their 2021 title combat. Johnson gained their rematch in August 2022 to seize the ONE flyweight title.
The American defended the title in a trilogy combat with Moraes in Could 2023 — the ultimate combat of Johnson’s profession and ONE’s debut within the US.
Although Johnson’s UFC run ended within the commerce and in ONE Championship, White mentioned that together with his accomplishments, there isn’t a doubt he’ll be within the UFC Corridor of Fame.
“Completely,” White mentioned matter-of-factly.
