Demetrious Johnson talked about the support he’s received since parting ways with the UFC and provided his opinion on the Hall of Fame.
In October 2018, the MMA community was set on fire when the UFC announced they traded Johnson to ONE Championship for Ben Askren. Since then, ‘Mighty Mouse’ has furthered his legacy by becoming the ONE flyweight MMA world champion and showcasing his world-class martial arts skills.
While fighting under the UFC banner, ‘Mighty Mouse’ didn’t receive the respect he deserved for his legendary career. As a result, Johnson has been asked numerous times about his thoughts on the UFC and whether or not he believes they undervalued him.
During an interview on the JAXXON PODCAST, Johnson had this to say when asked if he thinks the MMA community still supports him since he joined ONE:
“I think [the MMA community] still loves me. I think so. Obviously, I’m very grateful a lot of my peers believe in my skill set and how I carried my career. I think the community still loves me and my brand. I’m just grateful. It’s an interesting thing because when you ask that question, when you say community, I think the community still loves me.”
Johnson continued by talking about the UFC:
“When I think about the brand or the organization of the UFC at the time, it just wasn’t what I think the company was about at that time. If you put my reign now in 2023, it would just be skyrocketed through the roof.”
Watch Demetrious Johnson’s entire appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST below:
Demetrious Johnson advocates for MMA Hall of Fame instead of UFC Hall of Fame
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has long advocated for an MMA Hall of Fame. The idea being that more fighters need to have their legacy cemented outside of the UFC Hall of Fame, which can favor certain legends depending on their current relationship with Dana White and the promotion.
During the previously mentioned podcast appearance, Johnson was asked if he wanted to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and he responded by saying:
“I wouldn’t mind it. This is my take on it. I think [Rampage Jackson] deserve to be in the UFC Hall of Fame for what you’ve been able to do…That’s the thing that sucks about the UFC Hall of Fame. It should be like Ariel Helwani said, it should be a mixed martial arts Hall of Fame of all of the amazing athletes that have done amazing things in mixed martial arts.”
Demetrious Johnson last fought on May 5, defeating Adriano Moraes by unanimous decision in a trilogy fight for the ONE flyweight world title. Johnson has teased that he could be retiring from MMA without fighting again, but nothing has been confirmed by the all-time great mixed martial artist.
