Demetrious Johnson says emotional farewell message at ONE 168: Denver came ‘from the heart’

Former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Demetrious Johnson turned emotional at his retirement announcement last week in the United States. Johnson said he was expecting it as he spoke from the heart and thought of all he had put in building up his career.

'Mighty Mouse' made his exit from MMA official during a ceremony at ONE 168 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 6. He ended long speculation about his departure from the multifaceted sport, where he last competed in over a year ago.

On his MightyCast podcast, which was uploaded on YouTube on Sept. 10, Demetrious Johnson shared an all-access view of his retirement announcement, including taliking about how it was like to bid farewell to the sport he poured a lot in for a long period of time and to his fans.

The 15-time MMA world champion, who also competed in the UFC before finishing his career in ONE Championship, said:

"Like I said, I think it's always good not preparing a speech. Because I feel when you prepare a speech, you focus on reading the words and getting your thoughts out. But when you speak from the heart, feel the energy of the crowd, you see your wife, you see your kids, you see everybody, it's just f****ing hard, you know. It's not hard, it's just a big chapter of my life, after so long, that I have dedicated to martial arts."

Check out Johnson's comments below (19:06):

Demetrious Johnson spent the last five years of his illustrious career with ONE Championship, compiling a 6-1 record while becoming the flyweight MMA world champion.

The full replay of what took place at ONE 168 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Demetrious Johnson to focus now on jiu-jitsu

With his MMA phase over, Demetrious Johnson said he will now be focusing on Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which he has found new passion for.

Johnson made this known last week at ONE 168: Denver, where he announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Johnson said:

"I fell in love with jiu-jitsu. I absolutely love it. It's all I think about. It's all I watch. It's kind of like my new passion, just like with mixed martial arts. When I saw 'Sugar' Rashad Evans working out, and I was home from college. I was like, you know what? I think I'd do that too, and that's where that brought me to."

He continued:

"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 began competing actively in BJJ last year and has had considerable success. He recently earned his jiu-jitsu black belt as well.