Two weeks ago, Demetrious  Johnson lowered the curtain on his illustrious MMA career. Unlike many of the other MMA GOAT candidates, there are no ‘if’s, ‘but’s or ‘maybe’s about ‘Mighty Mouse’s accomplishments in the MMA world. There are no asterisks next to his wins either, in the UFC or in ONE Championship. He has defended his UFC title a whopping 11 times! Even at 38, he was dominant inside the steel cage, so you best believe when he says he hung up his gloves for good reason!

After more than a year on the sidelines, he finally stepped inside the ONE Circle but this time it was not to fight.  He announced his retirement on September 6th at ONE 168 while giving a heartfelt speech in the packed Ball Arena. This came as a huge shock to the MMA world because he is truly the mighty flyweight champ. However, now he has a proper explanation as to why he took such a huge step and the champ revealed his reasons in detail.

Demetrious Johnson explains his road to retirement

‘Mighty Mouse’ came into his YouTube channel and explained that he had reached a point where he got more satisfaction in training with random athletes from his age than persisting to fight in MMA. He said, “I felt it was the right time to go. After my last fight with Adriano, I was like, ‘Is this my life? Is this what it’s all about?’ And I thought it was the right time. But I gave myself a year to make sure because, you know, many fighters retire and then go, ‘Uh, I’m going to come back and fight again.’ But for me, if I’m f*****g retiring, I’m not coming back.”

He expressed that he did not find MMA ‘fun’ anymore. The man with a record of 25-4-1 has had his share of Octagon fights and now enjoys helping and training others as well as practicing jiu-jitsu. He does not want the competitive streak in his fights anymore and wants to see it as a creative outlet. Johnson now wants to train with the top fighters without having the added pressure to beat them.

Demetrious Johnson voiced in his MightyCast podcast, “I don’t care about winning. I don’t care about, you know, ever having an opportunity to fight you. ‘Hey Merab, can I come train with you?’ Yeah, you’re like, ‘Demetrius come train.’ And then when we train together, you’re not going to have like, ‘I need to beat you.’ You’re trying to learn from me. I don’t know. I’ve never trained outside of training camp when I would fight.”

He has given retirement a lot of thought and even tested the waters by staying on the sidelines to see if he was ready.  The former champ finally decided, “So, my New Year’s resolution this year was that I was gonna force myself not to fight. I need to start using my brain, my intellect, my charisma, my creativity to start making money and building my brand.” Johnson is a proud family man and looks forward to spending more time with his family. He said, “I was sitting at home, and I was like, ‘I don’t miss it.’ It’s a young man’s game. I’m 38 years old. I’m spending time with my kids and my wife, and I just knew that this was the right time to do it.”

The champ has had his magnificent run in the sky and wanted a smooth landing rather than a crash landing on the ground. At 38 years old with more than 15 years of elite MMA experience, the decorated fighter gave his speech in a packed Ball Arena.

‘Mighty Mouse’ made everyone cry with his heartfelt  retirement speech

When a legend decides to end a chapter, its is not just a bittersweet time for them but their fans and friends as well. Tears are shed and emotions overflow. Something like this happened at ONE 168 when Demetrious Johnson gave his iconic speech before officially retiring from MMA. A lot of tears were shed by fans and veterans alike when one of the GOATs announced his decision to conclude this chapter.

‘Mighty Mouse’ started strong while thanking the fans and his team but as the speech progressed, he got emotional and teary-eyed just like his supporters were getting in the audience. He thanked his team and his managers, and while thanking his wife and family members the champ could not hold his tears any longer.  Shortly after his heartfelt farewell speech, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong paid his respects to the flyweight phenom.

Sityodtong said, “People are very emotional. It was crazy because I was cageside and all of us were crying. I was standing next to Matt Hume, Renzo Gracie, all these guys. We were all in tears, it was so moving. Then DJ’s speech was also very moving. It was, I think I’ve never heard him speak so high-pitched before.”

ONE Championship certainly did the best thing by giving the former champion a proper platform to say goodbye to millions of his fans. They made it as magical as it should have been.

It was nonetheless a difficult decision but made easier by the guidance he received from other MMA greats. Johnson mentioned Urijah Faber before and said that the legend stated that a fighter could be at the highest level only for a short time. So Johnson decided to keep the gold and descend the steps of MMA while at the very top of it. What do you think he will do in the future? Will he return as a coach?