Demetrious Johnson won’t be fighting in MMA anymore and he didn’t fight the tears after announcing his retirement.
“Mighty Mouse” officially called it a wrap on his illustrious career this past Friday at ONE 168 in Denver, hanging up the gloves after 15 years as a pro, 11 UFC flyweight title defenses, and another title reign for ONE Championship.
The 38-year-old could hardly keep it together while delivering his retirement speech and the waterworks were flowing backstage, too. On Monday, Johnson released an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at his emotional farewell.
Watch the video below.
Following his in-cage moment, Johnson recorded an exclusive testimonial for his YouTube channel, and it wasn’t long before he was crying all over again.
“I didn’t think it was going to be that emotional, to be honest with you,” Johnson said. “I think it’s always good not preparing a speech because I feel when you prepare a speech, you focus on reading the words and getting your thoughts out. But I think when you speak from the heart and you feel the energy of the crowd, you see your wife, you see your kids, you see f*cking [coach Matt Hume], it’s just f*cking hard, you know?
“It’s not hard, it’s just a big chapter of my life that for so long I’ve dedicated to martial arts. I’m going to continue to do martial arts... a couple of guys that I talked to, Urijah Faber, he said, ‘There’s only a short amount of time you get to be a professional athlete and be able to compete at the highest level.’ It’s not that I can’t train anymore and I can’t fight and I can’t do it, but I feel there has to come a point in time when an athlete is like, when is enough enough? For me, I felt like it was that moment.”
Johnson composed himself and elaborated more on his reasons for retirement, but was soon in tears again after meeting up with his coach and longtime friend Matt Hume.
“He’s like a father to me,” Johnson said of Hume. “You’ve always been amazing. ... You’ve just always been there, not as a coach, but as a father and mentor.”
“I feel like I am to you,” Hume said before embracing Johnson.
The retirement festivities started earlier in the night for Johnson as his family put together a tribute video, which included UFC stars Israel Adesanya, Sean O’Malley, and Aljamain Sterling, BKFC star Mike Perry, Bibiano Fernandes, Tyron Woodley, as well as Johnson’s loved ones and training partners.
