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ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong says there was no stage more fitting than ONE 168: Denver for Demetrious Johnson, widely regarded as one of the GOATs of the sport, to officially call time on his MMA career. The reigning ONE flyweight MMA world title made the walk to the ONE Circle inside the Ball Arena on Sept. 6 to announce his retirement.
'Mighty Mouse' broke down in tears as he delivered his speech, showing gratitude to his family, fans, and teammates for their ceaseless support and ONE Championship for allowing him to enjoy the final stretch of his career.
Moments later, the Evolve MMA and AMC Pankration representative became the first athlete to be inducted into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame, receiving the award from Chatri Sityodtong himself.
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Speaking on the emotional farewell, the ONE head honcho told reporters during the post-event presser:
"So, we kinda knew it. So I think, maybe six months ago, DJ said: 'Hey Chatri, I think this is it.' And then, our marketing team, our phenomenal marketing team, got the ball rolling."
Sityodtong continued:
"They said we wanna do it in a special way [for] the greatest martial artist of all time. Come out with a beautiful moving video, highlighting some of his biggest achievements and have him say goodbye to the fans on live broadcast in 195 countries."
Though Demetrious Johnson said his mixed martial arts career has come to an end, the 38-year-old megastar said that he could potentially return in a submission grappling matchup inside the ONE Circle down the road.
Watch the clip here:
Rewind: Demetrious Johnson's glorious time in ONE Championship
Demetrious Johnson debuted on the global stage of the promotion with a submission win over Japanese standout Yuya Wakamatsu in a ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship quarterfinal fixture.
The American martial artist followed up with another impressive showing against Tatsumitsu Wada in the last four to book his spot in the final against Filipino warrior Danny Kingad at ONE: Century Part I in October 2019.
There, 'Mighty Mouse' claimed the tournament's prestigious silver strap with a flawless 15-minute display and earned his shot at Adriano Moraes' flyweight gold.
In their first encounter, Moraes became the first fighter to finish the American legend. However, the 38-year-old leveled things up with a near-identical flying knee knockout in their rematch, and put an end to their rivalry in their rubber match on the organization's debut showing in North America in May last year.
Apart from his MMA exploits, Demetrious Johnson featured in a historic special rules super-fight — alternating between Muay Thai and MMA — against ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE X in March 2022.
The martial artist great survived the opening Muay Thai round against the striking sensation before finishing him with a slick rear-naked choke in the all-encompassing discipline at the 2:13 mark of the stanza that followed.
