Dana White has paid tribute to one of the UFC’s most dominant champions after former flyweight supremo Demetrious Johnson confirmed his retirement from mixed martial arts.
Johnson, the UFC’s 125-pound champion between 2012 and 2018, revealed on Friday that he was stepping away from active competition following an outstanding 38-fight career which saw him win world titles in the UFC and more recently in ONE Championship.
“Good for him,” said White to Grind City Media, via MMA Fighting. “I never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson. Absolutely [he will be added to the UFC Hall of Fame].”
Johnson’s time as champion saw him defeat all comers, including a long line of number one contenders including John Dodson, Kyojo Horiguchi, Henry Cejudo and in what was one of the most spectacular submissions in UFC history, Ray Borg. He would eventually lose his world title in a rematch with Cejudo in what proved to be his final fight with the organisation.
Johnson would later find himself in the unusual position of being involved in the first major ‘trade’ between MMA organisations when he was dealed out to ONE Championship in exchange for then-undefeated welterweight Ben Askren.
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While some of Johnson’s reign as champion was marked by middling pay-per-view sales for events he headlined, White added that he was a consistent supporter of the fighter.
“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?”
Johnson’s final MMA bout came in May 2023 when he defeated Adriano Moraes by decision to claim their three-fight series 2-1. He retires with a professional record of 33-4-1.
