Demetrious Johnson dominated the 125-pound division in the UFC for five consecutive years. After losing the championship to Henry Cejudo in 2018, “Mighty Mouse” relocated to Singapore and signed with ONE Championship, where he is currently the flyweight champion following his fourth-round flying knee KO victory over Adriano Moraes this past weekend.
However, in ONE, the flyweight division is fought at 135 pounds, which is closer to Johnson’s natural weight. In addition, he recently told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that coming back at 125 pounds is now obsolete.
“I’ve said this in the past, I don’t think I can make 125. I know I could, but do I want to do it? Absolutely not,” he said.
“I don’t think it would be healthy for me, I don’t want to jeopardize my kidneys or my liver. So I don’t put myself in that category with Pantoja, Figueiredo, Moreno, all those guys.
“I put myself in the category with Aljamain Sterling, Petr Yan, ‘Sugar’ Sean O’Malley, Dominick Cruz…
“I’m not weighing at 125 pounds. I can’t make it anymore. I don’t want to make it anymore. For me, I see myself as a bantamweight here in America, where in Asia, it’s flyweight.”
“I truly believe that when it comes down to it when everything’s said and done and I walk away from this sport, I believe I’m one of the best flyweights to ever do mixed martial arts,” he said.
“You guys think I’m the best flyweight in the world right now, not fighting in America? Dope. That’s awesome. But, for me, I’m the champ, I’ll just leave it at that, y’all decide, I don’t want to get into this discussion.”
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