Demetrious Johnson admits COVID-19 pandemic had him pondering his fighting future

Former longtime UFC flyweight champion and current ONE Championship star Demetrious Johnson is concerned about how either mutating strains of COVD-19 or new viruses could potentially trigger another global pandemic similar to the current one, putting a halt and maybe an end to his professional fighting career.

Although there’s more known about COVID-19 than when the virus brought things to a halt in March, more public availability in testing, and a strong candidate for a vaccine, Johnson (30-3-1) remains worried about the future.

“I hope we don’t see a COVID-22, knock on wood right now,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio. “You just never know. I mean, COVID-19, like I’m not going to lie – I was getting ready for this fight, I had my ticket booked to go out to Jakarta, and then this (explicit) just happened.

“And then to sit on the sidelines for a full year, I’m going to have to start thinking about something else because it only takes one new virus to wipe out your entire career. I thought, ‘What if I never fight again? What if I never fight again because of COVID-19?’”

“Mighty Mouse” last fought in October 2019 when he won the ONE Championship flyweight grand prix by outpointing Danny Kingad. The 34-year-old hasn’t competed since. He was booked to challenge ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes in April, but the event was canceled due to the pandemic.

ONE resumed operations over the summer, using fighters from their Asian home base. In large part due to travel restrictions, American athletes, such as Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Sage Northcutt, have yet to compete since the restart. The promotion hasn’t announced when competitors like Johnson will return to action.

“I might never fight again, all that needs to happen is COVID 2022, and everything gets shut down, no live events,” Johnson said. “COVID-19 didn’t really hit me hard. I didn’t care about fighting. I just cared about being with my wife and kids, helping them being successful in their schooling. Obviously, me staying healthy for when the time comes I can be ready to fight. But when the COVID-19 hit, I was more father-retirement mode because when else I’m I going to fight again, I don’t know.”

Johnson is hopeful his title fight will get rebooked for the first quarter of 20201. He’s just not so sure.