UFC boss Dana White vows to put retired MMA legend in the Hall of Fame after he calls a stop to 'incredible career'
10/09/2024 15:54
Dana White has insisted that he will ‘absolutely’ enter Demetrious Johnson into the UFC Hall of Fame after his retirement last week.
The legendary flyweight champion won the most amount of title fights in UFC history, before trading to ONE Championship for Ben Askren in 2019. There he won gold again, before retiring on Friday night with the bantamweight belt.
And White has paid a glowing tribute to his former champion, insisting that he is worthy of a spot in the Hall of Fame.
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Demetrious Johnson hangs up his gloves after 15-year career
On Friday night at ONE Championship’s event in Denver, Demetrious Johnson entered the cage after teasing a major announcement. But instead of confirming a fight, he left fans emotional as he confirmed he was retiring from the sport at the age of 38.
His last outing completed a trilogy with Adriano Moraes that saw him defend his bantamweight title in May of last year. And after a year out of action, he opted to retire instead of going for one last outing after his latest birthday in August.
"First off I want to say thank you to the fans," Johnson said as he attempted to hold back tears during his emotional speech. "You guys have always been amazing to me as I live out my dreams and show my passion through martial arts.
"I want to say thank you to all of my teammates from the very beginning back in 2006 all the way to 2024, it's been a long journey. Thank you to Matt, thank you to my wife and my children, my mother in law.
"Thank you you guys, you have made me a better person, a better athlete, thank you to my wife for always encouraging me to pursue my passion, my dreams. Thank you to everybody at ONE Championship; the staff, the competition team, social media team, we appreciate you.
"Thank you to Chatri [ONE Championship's owner] for giving me the opportunity to display my martial arts on this platform. Like I said last time, I sound like a damn mouse, when I came here to Denver, Colorado I told you guys that was potentially my last fight.
"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. I appreciate you guys."
He also refused to give up his world title, jokingly finishing off his segment of the show by adding: "Mighty's out, they wanted me to leave the belt in here, I ain't doing that s***. I came into this sport as a champ, I'm leaving my black a** as a champ too!"
Dana White promises to put Demetrious Johnson in UFC Hall of Fame
While Johnson may have finished his career with ONE Championship, he was most famous as the all-conquering flyweight champion of the UFC. He defeated all comers in an iconic run after the WEC roster was absorbed into the sport’s biggest promotion.
And speaking with Grind City Media, his former promoter Dana White insisted that he would be given a spot in the Hall of Fame in future. "Yeah, I didn't know that," White replied when informed by reporter John Morgan that he had hung up the gloves.
"Listen 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. I never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson."
Asked if he would be heading into the UFC Hall of Fame, White replied "absolutely".
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