ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson Addresses Rumored Retirement, Potential Bout With Kairat Akhmetov

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With his MMA rivalry against Adriano Moraes coming to a close at the historic ONE Fight Night 10, ONE Flyweight World Champion Demetrious Johnson has a lot to consider moving forward.

During the weeks leading up to his trilogy with the Brazilian, rumors spread that "Mighty Mouse's" fight at ONE Championship's first trip to the US would be his last.

Having retained the flyweight gold against his fierce rival by unanimous decision in the rubber match this past Saturday, 6 May, at Denver, Colorado's 1stBank Center, Johnson's decision remains unclear.

With a career as calculated as his, "Mighty Mouse" will wait to talk with some of the sport's finest former kings before he decides to hang up his 4-ounce gloves.

"We'll see. I'm still young. I'm talking to my peers, I'm talking to Urijah Faber. I'm going to reach out to GSP, Khabib Nurmagomedov. I'm going to talk to these guys and ask, 'Why did you guys stop?'" the MMA GOAT said.

"Those guys could've kept on fighting, and there comes a point in time - I'm 36 years old - do I just keep on doing this and give the other athletes the opportunity to beat me and add to their legacy?

"I didn't have nightmares when I was getting ready to fight Adriano, I was having nightmares about what I'm going to do after I'm done fighting. And so, I like to listen to my feelings and try to understand why I'm having nightmares about what am I going to do after fighting when I don't have an opportunity to train for?"

For athletes as star-studded as Johnson, life after fighting can be a formidable adjustment. But should he choose to continue his legendary run, his next adversary will come in the form of #2-ranked flyweight contender Kairat Akhmetov.

"The Kazakh" also appeared this past weekend in Denver, Colorado, in a rematch of his own, taking out the resurging Australian star and #4-ranked Reece "Lightning" McLaren by unanimous decision earlier that night.

After three bouts against Moraes, Akhmetov poses as a fresh face and a fresh challenge, and it may just be enough to bait Johnson into a return to the Circle.

"I love when people are on winning streaks because I love taking it away from them. Kairat's an amazing athlete, very, very strong. I saw him and Reece McLaren in the World Grand Prix back in 2019," Johnson said.

"And he's a good wrestler. When I fight him, I'm excited for a new challenge because he brings something different to the table.

"Adriano was longer, and Kairat's bigger than me, and he's probably bigger than me as an athlete. I weighed in at 133-pounds, and it was super easy to make that weight. So, I'm looking forward to the challenge."