Denver, CO — Flyweight great Demetrious Johnson is almost certainly approaching the end of his fighting career.
It could come as early as Friday night, when Johnson takes on Adriano Moraes in the main event of ONE Fight Night 10, ONE Championship’s debut on U.S. soil. Johnson, known as “Mighty Mouse,” has openly been talking about the end of his career, though nothing is set in stone.
Whether he fights on or not, however, the former UFC and current ONE Championship flyweight champ certainly has plans for the future. Lots of them, he told Cageside Press ahead of Friday’s fight card.
“After I’m done fighting, obviously I’ll still work out, competing hopefully in jiu-jitsu,” said Johnson, who also has a number of business interests. Rattling off three or four companies he’s involved in, the flyweight star and avid gamer said he plans to “keep on creating content on my Youtube. And hopefully become an analyst for ONE Championship under the Amazon Prime umbrella. So we’ll see. I just think there comes a point in time when you have to think of stuff outside of fighting.”
Coaching, however, won’t be one of his post-fighting career endeavors. “No. Too much time,” Johnson told us. “Too much time away from the family.”
In recent years, Johnson’s name has been a popular choice among conversations about the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Up there with Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Fedor Emelianenko and Jon Jones.
“It’s great. It’s great to be considered the GOAT, amongst those great athletes like GSP, Jon Jones,” stated Johnson. But these days, the UFC record holder for title defenses (11) isn’t worried about accolades. “I think my legacy’s already cemented in the history books of MMA. Now it’s just about having fun, making more money, and putting on a good show.”
As for the advice he’d give to the next generation of fighters coming up, as an OG of the flyweight division, Johnson kept it simple.
“Save your money, invest your money in the stock market, and don’t touch it. And enjoy the ride. That’s the biggest thing I’d tell those guys. Just enjoy the ride.”
Watch our full conversation with ONE Fight Night 10’s Demetrious Johnson above.
