Demetrious Johnson Retires; Dana White Reacts – ‘Incredible Career’
Dana White has reacted to Demetrious Johnson’s retirement from MMA.
Johnson confirmed that he was retiring during the ONE Championship 168 card, having won titles in the UFC and ONE Championship. Johnson joined the UFC in 2011 from WEC promotion. He became the UFC Flyweight Champion after beating Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 via a split decision.
Johnson defended the title 11 times from 2012 to 2017 before leaving the UFC in 2018. He retired with an MMA record of 34-4-1, with his only defeats against Adriano Moraes, Brad Pickett, Dominick Cruz and Henry Cejudo. His last MMA bout took place with a win over Moraes, as he retained his ONE Flyweight Championship Belt.
White Reacts
“Like I said last time, when I came to Denver, Colorado, I told you guys that was potentially my last fight, and I was not lying. I am done competing in mixed martial arts, and I want to say thank you guys so much for giving me the opportunity. They wanted me to leave the belt in here, but I ain’t doing that.I came into this sport a champ, and I’m leaving as a champ too,” Johnson said
Now, White has given his take on one of the greatest flyweights in MMA.
“Yeah, I didn’t know that [he retired]. Good for him. Incredible career he had. I never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson. Absolutely [he’s a UFC Hall of Famer]. If you go back to when he was here, I was defending him from the fans. Who’s defended Demetrious Johnson more than me? Good for him. Incredible career he had, and I’ve never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson,” White stated
While Johnson may have retired, the sport still moves on. The One Championship 168 card was headlined by ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai and Kickboxing Champion Jonathan Haggerty, who took on ONE Flyweight Kickboxing Champion Superlek. It was a rematch of their 2018 clash when Superlek secured a win after the doctor stopped the fight. This time around, it was the same result. Superlek sent Haggerty to the canvas with a big elbow, ending the fight in less than a minute.
Full Card
Muay Thai: Superlek Kiatmoo9 knocked out Jonathan Haggerty with an elbow in the first round (0:49) to win the bantamweight title.
Muay Thai: Seksan Or Kwanmuang stopped Liam Harrison with punches in the second round (1:49) for a TKO win.
MMA: Shamil Erdogan defeated Aung La N Sang by TKO with strikes in the second round (2:48).
Muay Thai: John Lineker knocked out Asa Ten Pow with punches in the second round (2:50).
MMA: Victoria Souza won by unanimous decision against Alyse Anderson.
MMA: Isi Fitikefu won by unanimous decision against Hiroyuki Tetsuka.
MMA: Adrian Lee submitted Nico Cornejo with a rear-naked choke in the first round (2:37).
Muay Thai: Johan Ghazali knocked out Josue Cruz with a punch in the first round (3:00).
Muay Thai: Johan Estupinan stopped Sean Climaco with a punch in the second round (1:28).
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