ONE Championship plans a Hall of Fame ceremony after inducting MMA legend Demetrious Johnson as its first member following his retirement in Denver, Colorado last weekend.
The 38-year-old American laid his flyweight MMA title down in the Circle at ONE 168 in Denver, telling a packed Ball Arena he was hanging up his gloves after a career that has earned him the mantle of the sport’s “GOAT” – or “greatest of all time” – in many people’s eyes.
Johnson, also a former UFC flyweight champion who made a record 11 defences of his title before joining ONE in 2018, gave a moving speech and was then surprised to see chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong enter the cage.
Chatri presented “Mighty Mouse” with a special trophy, making Johnson ONE Championship’s inaugural Hall of Famer, 13 years after founding the martial arts organisation.
“It’s going to be on an as-deserved basis.” Chatri told the Bangkok Post at the ONE 168 post event press conference, when asked for details on how frequently fighters would be inducted, and whether there would be an annual celebration.
“But yes, there will be a Hall of Fame ceremony and all that stuff.”
Chatri added that he had known Johnson would be retiring for the last six months, but insisted the promotion had wanted to give him a fitting sendoff.
“DJ called me and said, ‘Hey Chatri, I think this is it for me’. So our team got the ball rolling. We wanted to do it in a special way,” the ONE boss said.
“As much as it was DJ’s moment, it was also the fans’ moment to say goodbye to him. People were very emotional. It was crazy because I was cageside and all of us were crying. DJ’s speech was so moving.”
Johnson was given the microphone to speak to the crowd – and on the live ONE 168 broadcast – for nearly five minutes, and he broke down in tears at several points, losing control of his voice.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak so high-pitched before,” Chatri added, laughing.
“But we wanted to make it a magical memory that would last a lifetime for our fans – it’s our ethos as a company.”
