Demetrious Johnson, the most decorated flyweight of all time, will join the Hall’s Modern Wing as part of the Class of 2026. News of Johnson’s induction was announced during Saturday’s UFC Seattle broadcast. The former UFC and ONE Championship champ was on hand at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA for the announcement, and a video package detailing his illustrious career.

Johnson (25-4-1) has long been on the MMA Mt. Rushmore of many, and is considered one of the greatest UFC athletes of all time. His 11 consecutive title defenses remain a UFC record.

After losing his belt to Henry Cejudo in 2018, Johnson never got the opportunity to reclaim it. Instead, frustrated with his career in the UFC, he signed off on a “trade” to ONE Championship in exchange for former Bellator and ONE welterweight champ Ben Askren.

Johnson won a flyweight grand prix and a world title in ONE Championship as well, posting a 5-1 record through six fights with the promotion and winning a trilogy with Adriano Martins.

“Mighty Mouse,” who holds notable wins over John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, Henry Cejudo, Kyoji Horiguchi, Ian McCall and others, retired in 2024, the year following his final bout for ONE. He’s also a member of the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.

“Demetrious Johnson is the greatest flyweight of all-time,” said UFC President & CEO Dana White in a press release issued Saturday night. “Demetrious was a great champion who had one of the most incredible careers in MMA, and his streak of 11 consecutive title defenses is one of the most remarkable records we’ve ever seen in professional sports. It will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”

The post Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson Announced As 2026 UFC Hall of Fame Inductee appeared first on Cageside Press.

At UFC 310 on Saturday, after choking out RIZIN champ Kai Asakura, Brazil’s Pantoja called for a fight with Demetrious Johnson.

The callout of “Mighty Mouse” was a rather interesting one: the inaugural UFC flyweight champion, who later moved to ONE Championship and claimed a title there, recently retired. Still, he’s considered the flyweight GOAT, and much like Georges St-Pierre after he hung up the gloves, there’s still a desire to see him compete.

Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following UFC 310 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Pantoja called the fight the answer to “what do you want for Christmas?” Well, here’s hoping there’s a few more items on his list.

In response to Pantoja’s callout, Johnson has confirmed he will not be returning to action. “Why would I do that? The bank account is sitting nice and good. 38 years old, 11 consecutive title defenses. The champ ain’t coming back,” said “Mighty Mouse” via his official Youtube channel. Since retiring, Demetrious Johnson has focused on business ventures, as well as social media and streaming, with an impressive following on Twitch in particular.

Johnson took over a year off before making his retirement decision, and now claims he doesn’t miss fighting. What’s more, he’s already been offered $2 million by another promotion to come back for a single fight – and declined.

“You know what the beautiful thing about the position I’m in is? I’ve been offered $2 million dollars to come and do one fight. One fight and what do you guys think I said? I said no. I said absolutely no,” Johnson revealed. “It wasn’t with the UFC. It wasn’t against Alex Pantoja. I’m not going to tell you who it was with but I got offered $2 million dollars to fight and there comes a point in time in an athlete’s career where you sit back and you’ll be ‘like why am I fighting?’ Is it to be the best in the world? Shit, I was the best in the world for six years. Not just in America but also in Japan and I went up a division. I went to 135 instead of 125.”

Johnson went on to add that “I gave myself a full-blown year to see if I’m going to miss it, if it’s my identity. And I didn’t miss it.”

Sorry, Alexandre Pantoja. There’s no doubt the UFC will be able to produce more contenders internally however.

The post Demetrious Johnson Sticking to Retirement, Reveals He Rejected $2 Million Offer to Return appeared first on Cageside Press.

Johnson (25-4-1) held titles in both ONE Championship and the UFC paving the way for the flyweight divisions to thrive in the biggest MMA promotions in the world.

During his time in the UFC Johnson put together a 15-2 record becoming arguably the greatest martial artist of all time. Johnson scored victories over the likes of Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi, Henry Cejudo, and Tim Elliot.

In the now infamous “trade” between the UFC and ONE Championship Johnson continued his winning ways with a 6-1 record under the banner. Victories over Yuya Wakamatsu, Tatsumi Wada, Danny Kingad, and Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The staple of his ONE Championship run was the trilogy with Adriano Moraes which he finished at ONE’s US debut in 2023.

Johnson told the crowd in Denver that although he was walking away from MMA he would still be part of the martial arts world. Recently he’s taken to competing in Jiu Jitsu tournament as seen all over social media.

“Thank you to Matt, thank you my wife, thank you to my children,” Johnson said in the cage while tears streamed down his face.

“Thank you to you guys. You guys have made me a better person. I am done. I am done competing in mixed martial arts. Thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity.”

The post Demetrious Johnson Announces His Retirement From MMA appeared first on Cageside Press.

Below are some of the best costumes in MMA from Halloween 2023 (or, you could do your own costume as an MMA notable)!

Carla Esparza

Wonder Woman and a little Hulk? We’ll forgive the Marvel-DC crossover in this case!

Happy Halloween 🎃 👻! Our little Hulk was sleepy, he’s been on night duty so he’s kinda tired 😂😴 #wonderwoman #hulk #clarkkent #superman #marvel pic.twitter.com/Qix3RYMlPF

— Carla Esparza (@CarlaEsparza1) November 1, 2023

Valerie Loureda

She’s now known as Lola Vice in WWE, but Valerie Loureda had a successful run in Bellator MMA prior to switched to scripted violence. She’s always been known to go all-out for Halloween, but this year she went with an angelic theme.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzCfKRhOSg-/?hl=en&img_index=1

Megan Anderson

Former Invicta champ and UFC title challenger Megan Anderson dipped into the anime world for her costume this year.

Halloween 2023 👻🎃 pic.twitter.com/vG340ojx7T

— Megan Anderson (@MeganAnderson) October 31, 2023

Pearl Gonzalez

Former UFC star and BKFC fighter Pearl Gonzalez with a little Scream-inspired cheekiness. Ghostface never looked so good.

https://twitter.com/PearlGonzalez/status/1719357438858572033

Neil Magny

Looks like the Magny family went with a Mario theme this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEFRAhuFUq

Ailin Perez

Ailin Perez pretty much just painted on her costume. In her own words, “I found a really nice pumpkin at the pumpkin patch this year.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEKemOLINB

Gillian Robertson

That’s a savagely good Toy Story-inspired ensemble.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEGe8QPeZ0

Tyson Pedro

Sticking with movie-inspired costumes, he’s Tyson Pedro.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzDDK4er4hp

Jon Anik

Neil Magny wasn’t the only one going with a Mario theme this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEWu3YOmRM

Amanda and Nina Nunes

My, what big eyes you have!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEZZynrEjv

Kay Hansen

Kay couldn’t settle on just one costume and broke out three – Wonder Woman, a sexy cop, and a Chucky-inspired outfit.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzEbZooJs51

Arianny Celeste

Hello nurse!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzC7jLarqIG

Tracy Cortez

Tracy says she’s ghosting everyone for Halloween this year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy-aNQAOs_3

Max Holloway

This is just cool.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy_rrBCymSG

Demetrious Johnson

Not sure which is scarier, this Heath Ledger-inspired joker, or Mighty Mouse with hair!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CzEoZ0IPHba

Kevin Holland

Kevin Holland just won Halloween.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE4fklJ4JW

Kayla Harrison

Quite the cast of characters here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE6zbRAhRR

Stephen Thompson

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetle— nope not doing that! He’s do some real damage in the MMA world.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzE89dePiox

Fabian Edwards

Well that’s just plain creepy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEwy0PrswM

The post Spooky Season 2023: MMA Does Halloween appeared first on Cageside Press.

Former ONE heavyweight champion Arjan Bhullar announces birth of son

Indo-Canadian ex-ONE Championship heavyweight title holder Arjan Bhullar, also of UFC fame, may have lost his title earlier this year, but he still has reason to celebrate. Bhullar took to social media this past week to announce the birth of his son, Heera Singh Bhullar.

Congrats! Can’t wait to see the kid’s takedown skills!

Welcome to the world Heera Singh Bhullar, my son🙏🏾#blessed #fatherson #family #TeamBhullar #OneBillionStrong pic.twitter.com/TdZgF5eylu

— Arjan Singh Bhullar (@TheOneASB) October 2, 2023

Former UFC heavyweight champ Josh Barnett makes AEW debut at WrestleDream

Ex-UFC heavyweight champion and Strikeforce/Bellator fighter Josh Barnett has long worked as a pro wrestler, seamlessly transitioning before real life fighting and scripted fisticuffs perhaps better than any fighter of his era.

At last Sunday’s WrestleDream, Barnett made his AEW debut, turning up in the world’s #2 pro wrestling promotion (second only to WWE) to take on Claudio Castagnoli. Barnett cut a rather respectful promo after losing the match against Claudio (formerly WWE’s Cesaro), and followed that up on social media.

Claudio was all I hoped to find in the ring and even more so; arguably more than even he knows lies still within him. Fights like these are something that will get me grab my boots and travel to any corner of the globe. I live for it.

Thank @AEW for providing such field of… pic.twitter.com/vhboBqjBGI

— 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 (@JoshLBarnett) October 2, 2023

Mighty Mouse to AEW?

Speaking of AEW WrestleDream, the pro wrestling PPV was held in Seattle, and local star Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was in attendance. Considered by many one of the greatest fighters of all time, the UFC and ONE Championship flyweight champ later teased a move to pro wrestling on X, which is apparently what Elon Musk is stubbornly sticking with (but we all know it’s Twitter).

Thanks to @AEW for the invite to #AEWWrestleDream…do you guys want to see me get in the ring next time? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/03M7WoNg7v

— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) October 2, 2023

Not sure there’s much of a flyweight division for pro wrestlers, but AEW has been very successful promoting smaller bodies, most notably Darby Allin, one of the company’s biggest homegrown stars.

In other “Mighty Mouse” news, his future with ONE Championship and MMA as a whole remains up in the air. No fight has been announced, but Johnson hasn’t announced his retirement, either. He had hinted at hanging up the gloves ahead of his rematch with Adriano Martins, but left the door open for a return.

Conor McGregor back in the USADA pool?

Conor McGregor and USADA have been going through a bit of a behind-the-scenes battle, along with the UFC, in recent months.

USADA has been vocal about the returning Irish star, who withdrew from its testing pool while rehabbing a broken leg, undergoing the required six months of drug testing before returning to competition. The UFC (and UFC alone, USADA officials previously told Cageside Press) can waive that requirement, and throughout the past year, McGregor appeared to be banking on that, claiming he would only need a couple of clean drug tests to fight again.

Who was going to win out, USADA or the UFC’s biggest star? Looks like it might be USADA.

This past week, McGregor posted a message to Instagram directed at would-be opponent Michael Chandler that included the line “Submitted my stuff to Novitzky.” That would be Jeff Novitzky, the UFC’s Senior VP of Athlete Health and Performance. On the UFC’s end, he’s in charge of the UFC’s Anti-Doping Program, which is run by USADA. Most have taken McGregor’s message to mean he’s back in the USADA pool.

If that’s the case, six months of testing would put the Irish star in line for when UFC 300 is expected to take place.

The post Sunday MMA Quick Hits: Ex-UFC Stars Turn Up on AEW PPV, McGregor Back in USADA Pool? appeared first on Cageside Press.

Rather than doubling down in 2024, the promotion will be back in the U.S. for four dates next year, all of which are expected to air on Amazon’s Prime Video platform. ONE officials announced the news on Thursday, with ONE President and CEO Chatri Sityodtong issuing a brief statement.

“I am thrilled to announce that ONE Championship is coming back to the U.S. with four massive events in 2024,” Sityodtong was quoted as saying in Thursday’s announcement. “When we made our historic U.S. debut with ONE Fight Night 10 on Prime Video, I was blown away by the support we received from our fans in the U.S.”

“ONE is home to the greatest martial artists in the world, and I’m excited to once again showcase our World Champions on American soil. To our fans that haven’t seen a live ONE event, I promise you an experience unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

No location or venue has been announced for any of ONE Championship’s 2024 U.S. shows, nor have any dates been made official. However, given the global ruleset employed by the promotion, which allows knees to downed opponents among other variations from the Unified Rules of MMA used by American promotions, it’s likely that options will be limited. Colorado, which approved the global ruleset earlier this year, is likely to get a return visit with that in mind.

ONE Championship’s debut in the U.S. saw Demetrious Johnson defend his flyweight title in the rubber match of his trilogy with Adriano Moraes. Although “Mighty Mouse” had openly talked about retirement ahead of the fight, he delayed any final decision and remains part of the promotion’s active roster. Fellow ONE stars including Stamp Fairtex and Aung La N Sang were also part of the well-received show.

The post ONE Championship Headed Back to U.S. for Four Events in 2024 appeared first on Cageside Press.

On tonight’s show ONE Championship made their US debut at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver, Colorado on Friday. Eddie Law was on location covering the event and talks behind the scenes, what working with ONE is like, the fights, the fighters and much more!

Then UFC 288 went down Saturday night in what turned out to be a great card in Newark, New Jersey. Cageside Press was on location covering the event that saw Belal Muhammad claim his spot in the title picture, and Aljamain Sterling turning away Henry Cejudo in the main event.

Sean O’Malley is next for the bantamweight champion and he was in the octagon following the main event to face off with Sterling, but his jacket disappeared for a second. Get yourself a friend like Merab Dvalishvili.

Conor McGregor took to twitter following UFC 288 to post a congratulations to Sterling and some coaching advice for Cejudo. Brandon Moreno took to social media to call out the former flyweight and bantamweight champion.

Tony Ferguson was arrested early Sunday morning and charged with DUI after he allegedly crashed his truck into two vehicles and then flipped it outside of a Hollywood nightclub. Nobody was reported to be hurt.

All of this and more on Keyboard Warriors TONIGHT!!!

Watch the entire show above.

The post Keyboard Warriors Live: UFC 288, ONE Championship, Tony’s In Trouble appeared first on Cageside Press.

After winning a five-round decision against the Brazilian, Johnson surveyed the crowd as to whether he should keep fighting — and the answer was a thunderous yes.

“Mighty Mouse” admitted, however, that he would need to discuss the matter with his family, who were in attendance at the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado on Friday night for ONE Championship’s U.S. debut.

Speaking to Cageside Press and other media outlets backstage following the event, Johnson opened up about a potential future opponent in Kairat Akhmetov, and shed light onto where the retirement talk had come from.

“I think Kairat Akhmetov is on a six-fight win streak, I love when people are on win streaks. I love taking it away from them,” Johnson said of the former ONE flyweight champ, who entered the ONE circle for a face-off to close out ONE Fight Night 10.

“Kairat’s an amazing athlete, very very strong. I saw him and Reece McLaren fight in the grand prix back in 2019 I believe. He’s a good wrestler. I think when I fight him, I’m excited for a new challenge because he brings something different to the table. With Adriano, he was longer. Kairat’s a little bigger than me, he’s probably bigger than me as an athlete, I weight in at 133 and it was super-easy to make that weight. But I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

That brought about a comment from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, who jokingly interjected “wow, did he just say he’s not going to retire?”

Sityodtong’s quick wit got a laugh out of everyone, including Johnson. But it’s clear the man considered by many the Greatest of All Time (and certainly the flyweight GOAT) has some soul searching to do when it comes to continuing his fighting career.

“We’ll see, you know. I’m still young. Talking to my peers, talking to Urijah Faber, I’m going to reach out to GSP [Georges St-Pierre], I’m going to reach out to Khabib Nurmagomedov, I’m going to talk to these guys, like you know, ‘why did you guys stop?’ Those guys could have kept on fighting,” Johnson stated. “There comes a point in time — I’m 36 years old. Do I just keep on doing this, giving other athletes opportunities to beat me and add to their legacy or whatever?”

Johnson admits that a lot of his feelings about retirement stem from week four or five of his training camp, the most gruelling stretch of fight prep. He remembers having nightmares about opponents in the past, but in this camp, the nightmare wasn’t about Adriano Moraes — it was about what he’ll do after fighting. “That’s where all these feelings harbor from,” said Johnson, who plans to “take a step back as an athlete and look at what I’m going to do after fighting.”

If Saturday was the end of Demetrious Johnson’s fighting career, he got to go out at home in the U.S., headlining ONE Championship’s debut on U.S. soil. Interest in the event was high, and for once, pretty much everything went according to plan — unlike, for example, the promotion’s troubled ONE on TNT series a few years back.

Despite Johnson topping the Colorado card, however, there was no pressure on the champ’s part to put on a show.

“Not at all. I believe in my skillset, I believe in my brand, and I’ve always believed in myself,” Johnson said on that front. “They pay me to fight, and every single time I go out there, I fight. I give it my all. I’m always looking for the finish. I didn’t get it, but I showed a lot of good clinch work trying to finish him, using the shoulder shrug. Because he’s a lot taller.”

“I knew I was going to go out there and put on a great fight, and I think Rodtang killed it too, so on and so forth. I think all the athletes tonight did a great job.”

Watch the full ONE Fight Night 10 post-fight press conference with Demetrious Johnson, plus Muay Thai champ Rodtang, above.

The post Demetrious Johnson Plans to Poll Faber, GSP, Khabib Before Making Retirement Decision appeared first on Cageside Press.

The pair’s series to date was tied 1-1, with Moraes catching Johnson with a knee in their first meeting. “Mighty Mouse” returned the favor in an immediate rematch, with a flying knee putting away the Brazilian.

For a fighter with championships in two major promotions, not to mention the UFC title defense record, another win (or loss) over Moraes wouldn’t change his legacy much. It would, however, extend it. The fight also saw Johnson headlining a card on U.S. soil for the first time in years, with ONE Championship making its North American debut.

Moraes went to the body with a kick in the opening minute, while the pair traded low kicks. The longer man, Moraes used his jab, catching Johnson at the end of one and forcing him to circle outside. Johnson answered back with a kick to the body; he showed off some stance switches. Another kick landed for Moraes; Johnson would close the distance and clinch up with about two minutes left in the round.

Moraes, however, reversed position against the fence. The pair traded knees, but would eventually stall out there, leading to a break from the ref. With only 10 seconds remaining in the round, that pretty much took them to the second.

Johnson opened round two with a kick, followed by a couple more, to the outside and inside of Moraes’ leg. Johnson looked to attack at angles, and continued switching stances and staying mobile. Closing the distance, Johnson fired a right hand, forcing Moraes to retreat. Moraes caught a kick moments later, but couldn’t dump “Mighty Mouse.”

Moraes would briefly get Johnson down about two minutes in, dumping him only for the champ to pop back up instantaneously. Moraes then clinched up and drove Johnson into the fence, working in knees but drawing a warning from the ref to keep working. Johnson would fire an elbow off the break, and they’d move back to range, just under two minutes left in the round.

When Moraes quickly took the fight back to the cage, Johnson took advantage. He fired some shoulder strikes, reversed, and landed a takedown, the first real takedown of the fight, if barely. Moraes didn’t stay down long, however, but in a closer round, it could have made a difference — though maybe not given ONE Championship fights are scored as a whole.

Round three saw an early clinch, with the pair trading knees and elbows. Back at range, Moraes fanned on a combo, then went looking for a takedown that Johnson smartly defended. With Moraes stalling out on the cage, ref Herb Dean opted to restart the fight at center, giving Moraes a hard warning in the process. Moraes would take the fight right back to the cage, however; they traded knees, and reversed position a couple of times.

In the final thirty seconds of round three, Moraes dropped for a takedown, but didn’t have it. Johnson landed a jump knee to the body just before the bell.

By round four, Demetrious Johnson was clearly the fresher fighter. Moraes had slowed a step, and continued to rely on tying things up in the clinch, again being warned by ref Dean to keep working. Johnson was equally active with knees; a warning was then doled out for grabbing the gloves. At center, Johnson landed an elbow followed by a knee, backing Moraes up. But Moraes against reversed Johnson, pressing him into the cage and hunting in vain for a takedown. Coming off the fence, a knee, elbow, and jump knee landed for Johnson!

Johnson was starting to show some explosiveness. He would land more knees in a clinch, where the pair reversed several times. Johnson came out of the clinch firing a combo, and when a punch missed, a knee followed that landed for the champ.

The fifth round opened with Johnson pushing the pace. Moraes fired a spinning back kick to the body, but that didn’t seem to slow Johnson. The flyweight great opened up a little with his kicks, nearly connecting to the face of Moraes. Moraes continued to clinch up, snaking his arms around the champ’s neck to try to force him off-balance, a tactic that hadn’t worked throughout the fight.

With just over two minutes to go, a pair of elbows for Johnson caught Moraes walking forward. Moraes tied up, only for Herb Dean to almost immediately separate the pair. Moraes would try a jump knee as Johnson came forward, but that didn’t land. Johnson would look to land a throw in the final minute, but couldn’t quite get there. Moraes tied up, the ref broke the pair apart, and they finished the fight at center.

For the first time in the pair’s shared history, Demetrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes went the distance. The outcome was never really in question, with “Mighty Mouse” capturing a decision on the scorecards, successfully defending his flyweight title. As for any retirement talk for Johnson, that will have to wait for another day, as he said post-fight that he’d need to speak with his family — but when he asked fans in Colorado if he should continue, they certainly answered in the positive.

Official Result: Demetrious Johnson def. Adriano Moraes by unanimous decision

The post ONE Fight Night 10: Demetrious Johnson Wins Decision, Closes Trilogy with Adriano Moraes appeared first on Cageside Press.

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.

The post ONE Championship’s Demetrious Johnson Has Lots of Plans for Post-Fight Career, but Not Coaching appeared first on Cageside Press.