A year and a half after headlining ONE Championship’s first show in the United States, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was again in the middle of the Circle, but without his gloves on.

The ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion made an appearance at ONE 168: Denver at Ball Arena in Colorado as he shared that he had a huge announcement to make. Johnson was last in action at ONE Fight Night 10 in May last year, where he took out Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes to win their epic trilogy. 

Johnson hinted that it might be his last fight in the all-encompassing sport of MMA, but shortly after winning the bout, he left the door open for a potential return. Since then, he has been active in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu scene, winning medals in IBJJF Masters tournaments. 

Demetrious Johnson surprises the MMA fans with his retirement announcement

At ONE 168, he stepped into the ring with ONE commentator Mitch Chilson and said his piece. 

“I know y’all want to see your boy get in there and whoop a motherf***er’s ass,” he said. “First off, I want to say thank you so much to the fans. You guys have always been amazing to me, to live out my dreams and show my passion through martial arts. I want to say thank you to all of my teammates from the very beginning, back in 2006 over to 2024, it’s been a long journey.”

He turned emotional as he thanked his family, his team, as well as ONE Championship for providing a huge platform for his career. 

“Mighty Mouse” then addressed the fans in attendance to make his announcement.

“Like I said last time when I came here to Denver, Colorado, I told you guys that was potentially my last flight, and I was not lying. I am done. I am done competing in mixed martial arts, and I want to say thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity. I appreciate you guys,” he said. 

ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong joined Johnson in the Circle for another presentation just for the occasion. 

‘Mighty Mouse’ finds a place for himself in ONE Championship Hall of Fame

Sityodtong put a fitting bow to Johnson’s incredible career by honoring him as the first inductee to the Hall of Fame in ONE Championship. 

“DJ, you’re the greatest martial artist in history for me. From one lifelong martial artist to another, I have so much mad respect. You traveled the entire world, fought on the two biggest organizations in the world, and conquered both. There is no other mountain for you to conquer,” the ONE chief said. 

Before he left the Circle, Johnson again thanked the fans and everyone on his side before saying his final goodbye. 

However, instead of leaving the belt in the middle of the ring, he picked it up as he rides into the sunset while being on top of the world. 

“I love you guys. ‘Mighty’s’ out.  They wanted me to leave the belt in here. I ain’t doing that shi*. I came into this sport as a champ. I’m leaving my black a** as a champ too.”