Demetrious Johnson was tired of dealing with all the behind-the-scenes politics at MMA.
In September, “Mighty Mouse” announced to the world that after nearly 20 years of domination, he had officially retired from mixed martial arts sports. Along the way, Johnson became the UFC’s first flyweight champion, defending the incredible 11 titles, the most consecutive title defense in promotional history.
After being traded to the first one championship in the MMA sports, Johnson picked up where he left off and won one flyweight Grand Prix tournament on the way to capture one flyweight MMA championship via an epic flying knee knockout from Adriano Moraes. Johnson fought Moraes once more and defeated Brazilian rivals through an unanimous decision to close the iconic trilogy.
With nothing left, Johnson left the sport and announced his retirement at 168: Denver last year.
Johnson is active in the gym, trains and competes in jiu-jitsu tournaments, but he repeatedly dismisses rumors of a possible return to the cage. In a recent interview with 1st Phorm, “Mighty Mouse” shed some light on why he chose to retire despite being still one of the best in the world.
After all, it was all political and media duties that he lost his love for sports.
“It was politics that I fell in love with in the fight,” Johnson said. “I just got ready and fell from love at a press conference. I didn’t bother me. I didn’t care about being the best in the world anymore. I didn’t care.
“This is what my life is. The sum of it. So, as you know, I think I’m good enough. I think I’m good enough. I want to use my intelligence to make money and see if I want to make something that people can actually see.
Demetrious Johnson remains busy with a variety of ventures
He still regularly competes in IBJJF tournaments, but has surpassed the podium a or two, but the Kentucky native enjoys away from the fight game by taking part in interviews, holding podcasts and growing his follow on a variety of social media platforms, including YouTube, which has 1.2 million subscribers.
Johnson is also an avid gamer, regularly streaming Eldenling, Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Fortnite.