Dana White reacts to Demetrious Johnson retiring from MMA: ‘Absolutely’ a UFC Hall of Famer’
Demetrious Johnson announced his retirement from fighting on Friday and it looks like he’s got two Hall of Fame inductions in his future.
Just after he revealed that he was calling it a career, ONE Championship announced that Johnson would serve as the inaugural member of the promotion’s Hall of Fame. Now UFC CEO Dana White said the same for the UFC Hall of Fame after learning that Johnson was retiring from the sport.
“Yeah, I didn’t know that [he retired],” White said about Johnson when speaking to Grind City Media.
“Good for him. Incredible career he had. I never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson. Absolutely [he’s a UFC Hall of Famer].”
While Johnson’s announcement made the rounds on Friday, White actually didn’t hear the news until Saturday but he had nothing but glowing praise for the former UFC flyweight champion.
Johnson was not only the first ever 125-pound champion in the UFC but he also holds the record for the most title defenses in promotion history with 11 straight. Johnson also holds the record for the most wins in UFC flyweight title fights with 12, the most UFC flyweight title fights with 13, the most submissions in UFC title fights with five and a laundry list of other accomplishments after spending seven years with the organization.
His UFC run ended after Johnson was traded to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren in a historic deal. Following the trade, Johnson put together an impressive run in ONE as well capturing both the flyweight title and the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix title as well as a victory over striking legend Rodtang Jitmuangon in a mixed rules fight in 2022.
While his career ended elsewhere, White believes he was actually one of Johnson’s biggest supporters, especially when he struggled to gain acceptance from fans in the UFC.
“Listen if you go back to when he was here, I was defending him from the fans,” White said. “Who’s defended Demetrious Johnson more than me?”
There’s no telling when Johnson may actually go into the UFC Hall of Fame but it appears that’s definitely going to happen one day in the future now that he’s retired.