Demetrious Johnson, one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters of all time, officially joins the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.
With UFC Seattle going down Saturday night at Climate Pledge Arena, it was the perfect time for the promotion to announce its plans to honor Washington’s own Johnson at the upcoming Hall of Fame ceremony expected to take place in July during International Fight Week. “Mighty Mouse” holds the record for the most successful consecutive title defenses in UFC history, retaining the flyweight championship 11 straight times from 2013 to 2017.
Watch the video tribute for Johnson below.
Johnson and his family were in attendance at UFC Seattle and the fighter received a rousing ovation when shown on screen.
When Johnson is officially inducted at the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony, he will join the Modern Wing alongside fellow all-time greats Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov, B.J. Penn, and Amanda Nunes, among other legends. He is widely regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA history.
Johnson compiled a 15-2-1 record in his eight-year UFC run, a number that doesn’t come close to explaining his brilliance. When the promotion introduced the 125-pound division in 2012, it was Johnson who emerged as its inaugural champion, a title he would not relinquish for five years. Along the way, he scored numerous notable wins over the likes of Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi, and Henry Cejudo.
Following a title fight loss to Henry Cejudo in their rematch, Johnson once again made history as one half of the first-ever trade between major MMA promotions when the UFC sent him to ONE Championship in exchange for Ben Askren. There, Johnson continued to excel, winning a flyweight (135-pound limit under ONE rules) grand prix and coming out on top of a memorable trilogy with Adriano Moraes that cemented his greatness.
He officially retired from MMA competition at a ONE event in September 2024 with a pro record of 25-4-1.
Now, the 39-year-old Johnson gets to come home and add one more accolade to a list that is already nearly unmatched.
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