Demetrious Johnson is undeniably one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history.
Holding the record for most consecutive Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) title defenses (11), Johnson unceremoniously departed the promotion via trade after dropping his title in Aug. 2018 to Henry Cejudo. Despite all he accomplished, “Mighty Mouse” has been a stateside afterthought ever since.
Several fighters with lesser legacies and achievements reside within UFC’s Hall of Fame and have been inducted quickly after retirement — Khabib Nurmagomedov perhaps most notably coming to mind. For long-time UFC commentator, Joe Rogan, there’s no logic in leaving the current ONE Championship Flyweight kingpin on the outside looking in.
“I don’t get any of that,” Rogan said on a recent episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast (h/t MMA Junkie). “In my world, that doesn’t make any sense. Gotta recognize that. Guy is one of the greatest champions ever.
“He is one of the greatest of all time,” he continued. “That guy is so f—king talented. So talented. And the way he set that knee up, the way he hits him with the right hand and is like a boss — not yet, not yet, BOOM. Lands it perfectly … He just knew just by the impact, ‘No way he’s getting out of that one.’”
Johnson fought late last month (Aug. 26, 2022), rematching Adriano Moraes in ONE on Prime Video 1’s main event. Scoring redemption, the former UFC champ hit a knockout of the year candidate via flying knee in round four (watch highlights).
His loss in the initial Moraes encounter had many turning their backs on Johnson as one of the all-time greats, but that all quickly came full circle as he provided the world with a strong reminder in the rematch.
“They (UFC) don’t talk about him. They don’t bring him up,” Rogan said. “It’s just really weird, like the UFC doesn’t promote him anymore now that he’s gone and goes to another organization. When they play The Who [inside arenas], they have that music, and they have the compilation, how the f—k do you not have ‘Mighty Mouse’ in that?”