Demetrious Johnson says it's a “breath of fresh air” to face other fighters besides Adriano Moraes

American mixed martial arts legend Demetrious Johnson is done facing off against rival Adriano Moraes and is looking to take on new challenges moving forward.

‘Mighty Mouse’ wrapped up his competitive duel with ‘Mikinho’ by winning their trilogy title fight at ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video on May 5 in Denver, Colorado.

Demetrious Johnson was a unanimous decision winner at ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States. He was a step ahead of former divisional champion Adriano Moraes throughout their five-rounder as he made his way to the convincing victory.

The win gave the upper hand to the pride of Parkland, Washington, in his head-to-head matchup with the Brazilian star, two wins to one. Both fighters have made it known that they are not too keen on battling for a fourth time.

Speaking to the MMA Junkie, Demetrious Johnson shared that while his matchups with Moraes were challenging, it is now time for him to take on other fighters and move on.

He said:

“Obviously I’d like to fight different people cause it gives me a different breath of fresh air, different problems to solve, but obviously, you know, Adriano [Moraes] was the number-one ranked fighter in that division so we got done with the trilogy.”

Watch the interview below:

Interestingly, the 36-year-old Demetrious Johnson is at the center of retirement talk. Some quarters said the third fight with Moraes could be the last for ‘Mighty Mouse’ in his illustrious career, but no hanging of gloves was made after.

Instead, the reigning champion said he will further discuss the matter with his family, particularly with his wife, and other people close to him.

But if ever he does continue with his fighting career, next for Demetrious Johnson could be former flyweight king Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan, who is the No. 2 contender in the division and currently on a six-fight winning streak.

ONE Fight Night 10 was played to a sold-out 1stBank Center in Denver. Its replay is available for free via Amazon Prime in North America.