Demetrious Johnson MMA: "The best to ever do it" - Fans marvel at Demetrious Johnson's inspiring rise to become one of MMA's greatest ever champions

Success in combat sports is never guaranteed, and American MMA legend Demetrious Johnson epitomizes the hard work and dedication needed to reach the top of the sport.

Before he became an all-time great, 'Mighty Mouse' balanced his MMA career with working day jobs to pay the bills and finance his training camps. Though he was faced with an unwinnable situation, Johnson ultimately broke through the glass ceiling to become the only fighter to hold gold in the UFC and ONE Championship.

The world's largest martial arts promotion posted an Instagram video showing how his humble beginnings led to a career worthy of being made into a Hollywood blockbuster.

Check out the video below:

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In the comments section, fans lauded the former ONE flyweight MMA world champion's inspiring story, writing:

"The best to ever do it 💪🏼"

"The Greatest 🙌"

"All my homies love DJ."

"THE ACTUAL GOAT OF MMA."

"He looks the same hahaha always smiling the goat 🐐"

"🐐 Mighty Mouse lives forever!"

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

After a stellar 14-year pro career earmarked by 25 wins with 13 finishes, Johnson announced his retirement at ONE 168: Denver last September, which occurred inside the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.

Following his speech, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong introduced the AMC Pankration and Evolve MMA product as the inaugural inductee into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.

Demetrious Johnson is honored to have showcased his talents in ONE Championship

Demetrious Johnson has always held ONE Championship in high esteem, even before his sensational arrival in 2018. He gladly gave the world's largest martial arts promotion its flowers in an interview with MMA Fighting.

The 38-year-old said:

"ONE Championship was the best thing that ever happened to me in my career and I'll stand by that. I'll take that to the grave."

Watch the entire interview below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by C. Naik