Former UFC flyweight and ONE Championship bantamweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson announced his retirement from MMA last week.
The UFC traded Johnson to ONE for Ben Askren in 2018, but Dana White hasn’t forgotten Johnson’s greatness in the sport and his time with the promotion.
John Morgan of Grind City Media interviewed the UFC president and asked if Mighty Mouse would be inducted into the promotion’s Hall of Fame.
“Absolutely,” White responded.
Johnson will be the newest former UFC champion to go to another promotion to finish their career but still gain enshrinement for his accomplishments in the Octagon.
White made it clear he was always a fan of Johnson as a fighter.
“If you go back to when he was here, I was defending him from the fans,” White told Morgan. “Who’s defended Demetrious Johnson more than me? Good for him. Incredible career he had. I’ve never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson.”
You can hear the entire interview in the video below.
Johnson may have the most Hall-of-Fame-worthy resume of any fighter in UFC history. Despite the size bias that led to his landing with ONE, no fighter in history has ever dominated their division the way Mighty Mouse did from 2012 to 18.
He became the first-ever UFC flyweight champion in 2012 after winning a tournament over a field of the top 125-pounders in the world. Johnson successfully defended his title 11 times, a UFC record for consecutive title defenses.
He spent 2,142 days as the champion of the UFC’s flyweight division before being dethroned by Henry Cejudo in 2018. That loss was a disputed split-decision defeat against the former Olympic gold medalist Johnson had defeated via first-round TKO in their first meeting in 2016.
While moments tend to take us prisoner, who should forget Johnson’s amazing Submission of the Century win over Ray Borg in 2017? I’ve watched and covered MMA for over 30 years and have never seen a more fantastic submission finish.
It’s easy to see that the UFC’s Hall of Fame will be better for including Johnson, a fighter with as legitimate a claim to GOAT status as anyone in the sport’s history.
Other UFC News This Week
Noche UFC is coming on Sept. 14. The card comes to fans from the Las Vegas Sphere, and it will be headlined by UFC men’s bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley defending his title against No. 1 contender, Merab Dvalishvili.
In the co-main event, UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso defends her title against Valentina Shevchenko in their third meeting. Grasso won the first fight to become champion. The pair drew in the second fight thanks to a judge’s error that appeared to prevent Shevchenko from regaining her title.
The third fight could signal the last time they will meet in the Octagon. The card also features a promising featherweight clash between the fast-rising Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega.
Be on the lookout for fight coverage all week as we lead up to one of the most significant events in UFC history.
