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Demetrious Johnson comfortably retired, dismisses Alexandre Pantoja's UFC 310 callout
12/09/2024 10:10 AM
Sorry, UFC fans, but Demetrious Johnson has no plans to come out of retirement to fight flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja.
Pantoja (29-5 MMA, 13-3 UFC) called out Johnson after retaining his belt with a second-round submission of newcomer Kai Asakura this past Saturday at UFC 310, an idea Dana White called “interesting.”
Johnson (25-4-1), who announced his retirement in September after a successful tenure with ONE Championship, said no amount of money would lure him out of retirement. Pantoja disagrees with the former longtime UFC flyweight champion making it about money, but Johnson’s stance remains the same.
“I’ve been offered $2 million to come and do one fight, and I said no,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “I said absolutely no, and it wasn’t with the UFC. … I gave myself a full-blown year to see if I miss it, to see if it’s my identity, and I didn’t miss it.”
Johnson is content with 12 UFC flyweight title defenses, as well as successfully capturing the ONE Championship title. He doesn’t believe there’s anything left for him to prove.
“When Alex Pantoja called me out, everyone’s blowing me up: ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘Guys, I’m retired. I have no interest to fight anymore,'” Johnson said. “I’m so happy for Pantoja. I’m happy he got his third title defense. I’ve always thought he was an amazing athlete. He’s the greatest flyweight in the world right now. …
“I’m not the best flyweight in the world anymore. My black ass is retired, and I’m happily retired. I ain’t gonna be no motherf*cking Jose Aldo. I ain’t gonna be no motherf*cking Donald Cerrone coming back to fight. There ain’t no point coming back to fight.”
