I would argue that Demetrious Johnson is pound for pound one of the top, if not the best, MMA fighters we’ve ever seen.
His resume is unmatchable. He’s been a champion in the UFC and ONE and still holds the UFC record for most consecutive title defenses.
“There’s no point to it,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio. “There’s got to be a point in time when it’s like, ‘OK, when is it enough?’ I felt that after the Adriano (Moraes) fight, this is the pinnacle. I was UFC champion, I was a ONE Championship champion, there’s nothing else for me to prove here. What, make more money?”
That was Johnson’s response after being asked if he would make a comeback to MMA.
Fans wondered if that was a possibility after current UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantojacalled him out in Decemeber but Johnson, 38 said that the offers coming in haven’t even tempted him.
“Nope, not at all,” Johnson said. “I’ve had offers come in. I’ve had great offers, had a few offers come in, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m good,’ because I feel I try to be a man of my word. I told myself that I was never going to take a fight to make money. Those days of using my body to make money are over. I’m not going to sign a contract and go fight.”
“I think it was important for me to take that time,” Johnson said. “I think as a professional athlete in mixed martial arts, you never know when it’s the right time when it comes to mixed martial arts. Like, ‘Oh, man. This guy is on an eight-fight winning streak, what is left for him to do? Should he keep on fighting to make money? Should he retire?’ For me, I knew after that Adriano fight in Denver, Colorado, I was like, ‘Oh, man. Is this all my life is meant to be? Just keep on fighting over and over again and go to the press conference?’
“So I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to see if I can be able to sustain, make money without getting punched in the face.’ So I gave myself a year to see if I was going to miss it, miss the press conference, miss fighting, miss competing. And as time went on, I fell in love with competing in jiu-jitsu with the gi and I started building the YouTube and started doing the Mighty Cast, and doing different things and working on different businesses, I was like, ‘Man, I really don’t miss it.’ I didn’t want to hold up the division as well.”
Note what he said there at the end.
“I fell in love with competing in jiu-jitsu.”
Who is starting a competitive BJJ league?
The UFC.
What do you need to get people to watch? Stars.
It’s entirely possible because his allure with the IBJJF is wearing thin after he was (in the opinion of many) shafted by the ref during a controversial match at Pan’s.
“Mighty Mouse” has a hugely successful online presence, which means he really doesn’t need fight money, and you can’t blame the guy at 38 for walking away from MMA.
But don’t be surprised he he pops up in competitive BJJ.
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