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Demetrious Johnson plans to continue helping ONE Championship "build their brand."
On September 6, Johnson made a special appearance at ONE 168, which took place in North America. The living legend officially announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, vacating his flyweight world title in the process.
Chatri Sityodtong revealed 'Mighty Mouse' will be the first person inducted into ONE's Hall of Fame. Despite retiring from MMA, Johnson's involvement with the promotion isn't over, which he explained during an interview with MMA Fighting:
"It was the best career decision I ever made. And I love ONE Championship for it. I'm still involved with ONE Championship, trying to help them build their brand, and their fighters."
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Demetrious Johnson fought in ONE Championship seven times, leading to an MMA record of 5-1 and a mixed-rules win against Rodtang. The American superstar last fought in May 2023, defeating Adriano Moraes by unanimous decision to end their legendary trilogy.
Johnson is undoubtedly considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time. Besides his ONE flyweight world title, 'Mighty Mouse' is also a former 12x UFC champion and the winner of the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix.
Watch Johnson's entire interview with MMA Fighting below:
The race to Demetrious Johnson's vacant world title
Demetrious Johnson's retirement opened the door for several flyweight contenders to potentially fight for the vacant throne. On November 8, former world champion Adriano Moraes punched his ticket to the title fight with a second-round submission at ONE 169 against Danny Kingad.
Moraes' upcoming opponent could be decided at Friday's ONE Fight Night 26, which goes down inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. Number four-ranked Reece McLaren is scheduled to fight interim strawweight MMA world champion Jarred Brooks in a must-see flyweight bout.
Another contender in the vacant flyweight MMA world title race is number two-ranked Yuya Wakamatsu. 'Little Piranha' is coming off consecutive wins and now looks to take out promotional debutant Gilbert Nakatani at ONE Fight Night 26.
ONE Fight Night 26 can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
