Demetrious Johnson doesn’t see retirement in his near future.
Johnson, the former UFC flyweight champion and now ONE Championship fighter, believes he’s got a few good years left in MMA. Johnson (30-4-1) is 36 and has been competing professionally for 15 years. Yet, despite being very deep into his fighting career, Johnson still feels good about his standing.
“I think three to four more years,” Johnson told MMA Junkie. “I’ll probably keep on competing, depending on how my body feels. And after that, I want to spend as much time with my family and my kids. I love being a father. I love being a husband. I love being at home. That’s one of the things I truly cherish.
“And I think as far as competition, I will focus on grappling just because you’re not taking brain trauma. … So I think I’ll focus more on grappling and go from there.”
Johnson returns to the cage Friday at ONE on Prime Video 1. He takes on champion Adriano Moraes in the headliner, a title-fight rematch in which he hopes to avenge his KO loss from last year.
Johnson said he’s getting close to the end of his current contract with ONE Championship. He’s open to testing free agency and maybe going elsewhere, but he believes he’ll likely end his career with ONE.
“Yeah, I think so,” Johnson said. “I’m 36 years old. I got a couple of fights left on my contract, and I’m happy over here, so I don’t see why not.
“Obviously, when I come to that bridge, and I have to cross it, obviously my mindset is going to be different. When I was 31 years old, and I thought I was going to stop at 35 just because I don’t know how my body is going to be like. But now that I’m 36, I feel great, and here I am still competing. So we’ll see what happens.”