Demetrious Johnson reveals retirement possible after trilogy with Adriano Moraes: “I don’t want to fight for two more years”

ONE Championship flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson won’t be around much longer.

‘Mighty Mouse’ has been out of the cage since his rematch with Adriano Moraes last August. In their first outing the previous April, the Brazilian scored a highlight-reel second-round knockout win. To his credit, Johnson repaid the favor last year, winning the flyweight title with a third-round stoppage.

The two are set to have their trilogy bout next month at ONE Fight Night 10, in ONE Championship’s United States debut in Colorado. Johnson and Moraes will headline the event, showing the massive stakes of their title fight. However, the bout also might end up being the last for the legendary flyweight.

In a recent interview with TheScore, Demetrious Johnson discussed retirement. There, the ONE Championship flyweight champion admitted that he didn’t plan to follow his original plans. In March 2021, Johnson stated that he saw himself fighting for four more years.

However, Johnson appears to have changed his mind.  In the interview, he stated that he has zero plans to fight for two years. In fact, Johnson stated that his trilogy matchup with Moraes might wind up being his last bout.

Demetrious Johnson teases retirement after trilogy fight

“That’s not f—–g happening,” Johnson said in regard to his original retirement plans. “I’ll tell you that: That’s not happening. F–k no… It could be [my last fight], You never know… I talk to my close friends who don’t do mixed martial arts and they’re like, ‘What else are you trying to prove?’ And I’m like, ‘I’m trying to get this money, I’m trying to get this bag.'” (h/t TheScore)

He continued, “I think after this fight, I’ll decide what I want to do. I want to compete in IBJJF in my Gi and work toward my black belt. … But I don’t want to fight for two more years. I have no interest. When I hear two more years, I’m like, ‘Ew, that sounds horrible’… I’ve been doing this for 18 years – ever since I was 18 years old. At some point, if you stay at the party for too long, you end up drunk. I don’t want to get drunk.”