Demetrious Johnson, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, announces his retirement at the age of 38

In MMA’s flyweight division, Demetrious Johnson is the only answer to the greatest of all time. And now his career is over.

Johnson, 38, announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Friday during an appearance at ONE 168 in Denver, ending a career that spanned five promotions and nearly a decade of title reigns. He will finish his career with a record of 25-4-1, including 17-2-1 at flyweight.

“They wanted me to leave the belt here, but I’m not doing that shit. I came into this sport as a champion, and I’m leaving my black ass as a champion,” Johnson said.

The announcement came with news that Johnson would be the first inductee into the new ONE Championship Hall of Fame. Johnson also said he will continue training jiu-jitsu, so he may not be completely done with the combat sport, just the one that made him a star.

Johnson rose as the original UFC flyweight champion, joining the promotion through its merger with World Extreme Cagefighting and winning the belt in 2012 with tournament victories over Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez.

Johnson defended the flyweight title 11 times, breaking Anderson Silva’s UFC record for consecutive title defenses. “Mighty Mouse” dismantled one opponent after another for six years, and it was Olympic wrestling champion Henry Cejudo who dethroned him on his second attempt with a split decision.

Instead of trying to reclaim the belt, Johnson was traded to ONE and became the face of the nascent promotion, winning the 2019 ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix and then fighting Adriano Moraes for the ONE Flyweight belt.

This rivalry between Moraes turned into a trilogy: Moraes won the first fight by a knee KO in the second round, Johnson won the next two fights with a flying knee in the fourth round and a unanimous decision victory.

While Johnson works on his grappling, a full-time career in media wouldn’t be a difficult transition for him either, as he is already involved in podcasting.