Demetrious Johnson might get some advice from the who’s who of MMA about his pending retirement.
After a long and successful fighting career, current ONE Championship flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson is looking to walk away from the sport. The former UFC flyweight champion is often regarded as one of the best mixed martial artists ever. Now at 36 years old he has mentioned his desire to pursue other avenues in his life and put his MMA career behind him. “Mighty Mouse” will not be taking this exit light-heartedly, in fact, he plans on running the decision past a few other GOATS that came before him.
On Friday night, Johnson stepped into the ONE Championship cage for his 30th professional MMA bout. He defeated Adriano Moraes by unanimous decision to defend his championship belt. Leading up to the fight, Johnson was candid about his desire to make that bout his last, now he is less finite in his decision and wants to get some advice before making a final commitment.
Demetrious Johnson plans on asking Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre about their retirement
Before Johnson makes the leap into retired life he wants to get some words of wisdom from those who have come before him. In the post-fight press conference, he was asked bout his plans and explained that he has some thinking to do.
“Talking to my peers, talking to Urijah Faber, I’m going to reach out to GSP, I’m going to reach out to Khabib Nurmagomedov, he said. “I’m going to talk to these guys. I’m like, ‘Why did you guys stop?’ Those guys could have kept on fighting, and there comes a point in time, I’m 36 years old, and do I just keep on doing this and giving other athletes the opportunity to beat me and add to their legacy? There’s a lot of stuff I’ve got to muster up.”
St-Pierre walked away from the sport back in 2013 but returned in 2017 for one final run. This is a trend that seems common in MMA. Fighters will often retire but then feel the need to come back. One man who has just done this is Johnson’s friend and training partner Henry Cejudo. Johnson also plans to speak with Khabib Nurmagomedov who chose to retire and never return per a promise to his mother. Johnson seems to be mimicking Nurmagomedov and wants his decision to be a final one with no takebacks.
Quotes from MMA Fighting.
