One of the sport’s all-time greats has suffered a surprising setback in his latest venture.
There are a lot of different paths that former UFC fighters can take after they decide to step inside the Octagon.
Many, like Jon Jones, who wants to return at the White House event in 2026, end up coming back following a brief hiatus in their career.
One of the more common routes in recent years has been to swap the cage for a boxing ring, with the likes of Darren Till and Luke Rockhold set to face off this weekend.
A UFC champion who produced one of the most dominant reigns of all time chose to explore a different form of competition that he has fallen in love with since retiring from MMA.
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Demetrious Johnson gets submitted by an opponent whom he beat in last year’s world championships
Just under a year ago, at ONE 168 in Denver, Colorado, Demetrious Johnson announced that he would be vacating the flyweight title and retiring.
‘Mighty Mouse’ has left behind a truly legendary career but was open about no longer having the passion to compete in MMA and risk his health.
He’s been able to fill the void of competition by continuing to stay active in jiu-jitsu tournaments, which has allowed him to keep evolving as a martial artist.
Johnson has achieved some success in multiple tournaments, winning the IBJJF master world championships in the brown belt master 2 featherweight division in 2023 among other accolades.
The former UFC flyweight champion was moved into another bracket after earning his black belt, which has proven to be a much more difficult task for him.
In August last year, Johnson won his first three matches in the black belt master 2 featherweight division before suffering his first submission loss at the world championships.
One year on and he returned for another attempt in the same tournament, though this time around, he wasn’t able to make it as far.
Johnson advanced through the first matchup after his opponent didn’t show up, but was submitted in his second contest by one of the opponents that he beat last year, Takuto Kako, as seen in fan footage.
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Demetrious Johnson consoled the man whom just beat him following their previous encounter
Demetrious Johnson documented his journey at the 2024 world championships, which led to him capturing a wholesome moment between him and his opponent.
He defeated Takuto Kado via decision before going over to his foe and consoling him in this disappointing moment.
“It’s still good,” Johnson said. “There’s next year. This is for fun. Your life’s not going to change. You’re going to go home, keep on training, have a beautiful wife, kids, go back to work. This is for fun. There’s more to life than winning, I promise.”
In a reflection of Johnson’s own words, this time around, it was Kado that came out on top when they faced off.