Demetrious Johnson trains with BJJ champ as MMA retirement questions swirl

Demetrious Johnson is not officially retired from MMA — but he's also not thinking about the sport.

That's how the former UFC flyweight champ and current ONE Championship flyweight champ explained things on a recent episode of the JAXXON Podcast.

During his appearance on the podcast, "Mighty Mouse" also stated that he has only hit pads a couple of times in the last year and a half, and that he has been training almost exclusively in Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) instead.

That certainly seems to be the case based on one of his latest Instagram posts, which showed him getting some training in with ONE flyweight submission grappling champion Mikey Musumeci, one of the top athletes in BJJ right now.

Johnson's last three MMA fights have all been against Brazilian rival Marlon Moraes in ONE Championship. He lost their first fight with a shock knockout in one of the biggest upsets of 2021, but rebounded with consecutive wins in 2022 and 2023 — first a knockout of his own, and later a decision.

His three-fight rivalry with Moraes was split by a custom rules attraction opposite Muay Thai champ Rodtang Jitmuangnon, who he choked out with a second-round rear-naked choke.

He ruled over the UFC flyweight division from 2012 to 2018, defeating the best opposition available in emphatic fashion during that time. He finally lost the belt with a controversial split-decision defeat against Henry Cejudo in 2018, and was subsequently traded to ONE in exchange for former Bellator champ Ben Askren.

Johnson is considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, and is at the top of the list in the eyes of many fans.

Musumeci, who Johnson referred to as a "beast" in his Instagram post, debuted in ONE's flyweight grappling division in 2022. After a win over Japanese MMA legend Masakazu Imanari, he then won the vacant belt with a win over Cleber Sousa, and has since defended it with wins over Bayanduuren Gantumur, Osamah Almarwai, and Jarred Brooks.

His two most recent matches have both been in heavier divisions, where he submitted Shinya Aoki and Gabriel Souza.

His next bout, which co-headlines ONE 168 on Sept. 6 in Denver, will see him climb up multiple divisions to challenge Kade Ruotolo for the lightweight belt.