MMA legend Demetrious Johnson might have announced that he was retiring from the sport he made his name in, but he’ll still be competing in BJJ regardless. Johnson has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest fighters in the history of the sport over the course of almost 15 years, and his retirement has been hard-earned. He retires with one of the most impressive records ever seen and he’s spent the majority of his career fighting at the highest level as a champion in both the UFC and ONE Championship. In fact, Johnson was only on the regional MMA circuit for 3 fights before getting the chance to compete in the WEC.
He left the WEC with a 5-1 professional record as a bantamweight, where he continued competing when he moved to the UFC. Johnson won his first two fights and challenged Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight title, losing the fight and dropping down to a more suitable weight for a chance at the inaugural flyweight title. That marked the beginning of his incredible run as the world champion and he left the UFC in 2018 with a 20-3-1 professional record. Johnson added the ONE Championship flyweight title to his collection and over the course of two reigns as the champion, retired at 25-4-1.
Demetrious Johnson was also recently promoted to black belt in BJJ and has become known for his impressive performances in masters competition prior to that. Although he lost in his black belt debut earlier this year, that hasn’t turned him off pursuing the sport further:
“So now I’m done competing in mixed martial arts. Maybe one day you guys will see me in here grappling, do a grappling match. But right now, I’m a gi boy. I’m a gi boy, so I’m just going to pursue my passion for Jiu-Jitsu in the gi.”
Demetrious Johnson shared the exclusive footage of him retiring from MMA in a video uploaded to his official YouTube channel:
