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Demetrious Johnson chose to retire from the sport of mixed martial arts before the sport retired him.
For nearly a decade, 'Mighty Mouse' dominated the MMA scene in North America before making his way to ONE Championship and conquering yet another stable of flyweight athletes to further establish himself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters of all time.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
Returning to the Circle inside Ball Arena at ONE 168: Denver, Demetrious Johnson emotionally announced that he would be walking away from MMA, leaving behind a legacy that will likely never be matched or surpassed.
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Discussing his recent retirement on YouTube, Johnson knew that with nothing left to prove, it was time to walk away while still healthy enough to enjoy a life outside of fighting.
"I always tell people, if you stay in the battle long enough, the battle's gonna retire you," Johnson said. "Where I'd rather be the guy that walks away from the battle healthy, and be able to enjoy my life."
Demetrious Johnson's legacy in ONE Championship will stand the test of time
After coming to ONE Championship via a history-making trade with the UFC, Demetrious Johnson immediately asserted his dominance, scoring a trio of wins over Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumitsu Wada, and Danny Kingad to win the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix tournament in 2019.
The WGP win led to an iconic trilogy with one of the greatest flyweight champions in ONE history, Adriano Moraes.
While 'Mikinho' came out on top in their inaugural meeting, 'DJ' would get his revenge 16 months later at ONE on Prime Video 1, landing a perfectly-timed flying knee to claim 26 pounds of flyweight gold. Johnson closed out the rivalry with another dominant victory at ONE Fight Night 10, securing his spot at the top of the all-time flyweight list.
Look back at some of Demetrious Johnson's most iconic moments in ONE Championship below:
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 168: Denver replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.
