Demetrious Johnson reveals retirement timeline ahead of return at ONE on TNT 1

ONE Championship superstar and former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson has revealed his timeline for retirement from mixed martial arts.

Johnson, the former UFC flyweight champion, takes on Adriano Moraes for the ONE flyweight championship that Moraes currently holds this Wednesday night. After taking off the entire 2020, mostly because the COVID-19 pandemic made booking fights difficult, Johnson is ready to get back into the cage and show the world how dangerous he truly is.

Speaking to Shakiel Mahjouri of Fightful ahead of ONE on TNT 1, Johnson spoke about his timeline for how long he plans to continue fighting. According to “Mighty Mouse,” he is looking at three or a maximum of four years left of fighting. Johnson is well aware of the fact this is a young man’s game and he doesn’t want to take damage when he gets older.

“I think that’s the most important part, having an end in sight. You see some of these athletes just fight forever and ever and ever. For me, I’m 34-years-old. I would love to be finished fighting within four years [at] 38-years-old. I don’t foresee myself jumping back over to a North American promotion. I can’t predict the future, but as of now, I’m very happy with ONE Championship. I’m very happy where I’m competing at and I look forward to the future,” Johnson said. “Three or four years. I don’t want to be fighting until I’m 39 or 40. I’ve been fighting since I was 18. I feel like 18 to 38 that’s 20 years in the game. That’s 20 years of competing and being an athlete… As you get older, there is no point in taking shots to the face and getting concussions. The potential of getting knocked out, all that stuff. There is no point in risking that anymore.”

How excited are you to see Demetrious Johnson fight again at ONE on TNT 1?