ONE Championship: Who’s Next For Demetrious Johnson In 2024?

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ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Demetrious Johnson returned to the Circle in historic fashion this past May at ONE Fight Night 10, defeating former king Adriano Moraes to settle their trilogy of bouts. But since then, little has been heard about "Mighty Mouse's" return.

The American megastar headlined ONE Championship's first venture on U.S. soil, earning the unanimous decision over Moraes to keep his World Title around his waist. Many wondered when Johnson would next feature in the Circle, or if that would be his last outing.

While neither are clear, Johnson has previously stated that he'll only compete when it makes sense. And luckily, there are a few names in the division on the come-up who could lure "Mighty Mouse" back to competition.

The first of those options could be Australian enigma Reece McLaren. "Lightning" enjoyed a two-fight winning streak leading into ONE Fight Night 10 earlier this year, having beaten Xie Wei and Windson Ramos by submission.

The #3-ranked flyweight contender did come unstuck against former ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Kairat Akhmetov in Denver, Colorado, but the victory was later nixed due to the Kazakhstani failing a drug test.

The ruling provided some solace to McLaren, who looked at the top of his game that night. His wild, unorthodox style has always provided a tricky test for his flyweight competitors, and seeing how Johnson's fight IQ would deal with the Aussie would certainly make for an interesting contest.

The upcoming ONE 165: Rodtang vs. Takeru also has plenty of scintillating matchups. But one in particular for the flyweight MMA realm sees Danny Kingad pitted against Yuya Wakamatsu for the second time when the world's largest martial arts organization returns to Tokyo, Japan, in January.

Kingad returned to winning ways last time out against Eko Roni Saputra earlier this year at ONE Fight Night 7. The Filipino thwarted the Indonesian's attacks and looked levels above Saputra, stopping his seven-fight winning streak to boot.

The #2-ranked contender last met Johnson at ONE: CENTURY in 2019, losing out to a unanimous decision. And he'd certainly enjoy the chance to run it back with the MMA GOAT in 2024.

On the other side of the ring, Yuya Wakamatsu also shares history with "Mighty Mouse." Wakamatsu first welcomed Johnson to ONE Championship in 2019 before falling victim to a second-round submission at ONE: A NEW ERA.

Almost five years will have passed since then when Wakamatsu meets Kingad at ONE 165, and with a knockout over Xie at ONE Fight Night 12 earlier this year, the #4-ranked contender put himself in a strong position to rematch "Mighty Mouse" should he topple Kingad first.