VIDEO | Demetrious Johnson announces his retirement at ONE 168

MMA legend Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement from the sport at ONE 168 on Friday in Denver.

Johnson has been contemplating retirement since his trilogy win over Adriano Moraes in May 2023. He’s remained active in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at various tournaments but hasn’t fought in MMA since the Moraes victory.

Johnson announced the news during a special presentation at ONE 168. He received a hero’s welcome into the arena as his signature walk-out music played throughout the venue.

Johnson then laid his ONE flyweight title belt in the center of the cage in front of the crowd and revealed that he was walking away from MMA. He was also inducted into the ONE Hall of Fame by CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Johnson, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, insisted in his announcement that he wasn’t walking away from BJJ competitions anytime soon. He spoke glowingly about submission grappling, revealing that it quickly became his main passion.

You can watch Johnson’s full speech below.

Hear what Demetrious Johnson had to say at ONE 168: Denver 🗣️

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Demetrious Johnson walks away from MMA after legendary career

The majority of Johnson’s career took place in the UFC Octagon. Before becoming the UFC’s inaugural flyweight titleholder, Johnson made noise in the UFC bantamweight division, going the distance with Dominick Cruz and winning seven of his first eight fights overall.

Johnson won the inaugural UFC flyweight title by split decision over Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152. The aftermath was arguably the most dominant title reign in UFC history.

Johnson defended the title a record 11 consecutive times, including a one-sided rematch win over Benavidez in Dec. 2013. He defended the belt against the likes of Henry Cejudo, Kyoji Horiguchi, and John Dodson.

Johnson also clinched arguably the greatest submissions in UFC history over Ray Borg at UFC 216. He submitted Borg with a flying armbar in the closing minutes of the fight.

Johnson was the subject of the infamous UFC-ONE trade for multi-promotional champion Ben Askren in 2018. The trade came after a lengthy contract dispute with the UFC brass and a title loss to Cejudo.

Johnson won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix by defeating Danny Kingad a year after the trade. A shocking knockout loss to Moraes in April 2021 preceded two of Johnson’s most dominant recent performances.

Johnson retires with a 25-4-1 professional MMA record. He made his professional debut in July 2006 in Auburn, Washington.