AFTER Eddie Alvarez, another former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titleholder is headed to ONE Championship after the deal sending Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson to Asia’s biggest sports media property was reportedly completed at the weekend.
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong made the announcement of the completion of the deal, involving undefeated ONE welterweight world champion Ben Askren, on Sunday via his Twitter account.
“Please join me in welcoming the #1 pound-for-pound king, @MightyMouse, to ONE Championship! His extraordinary achievements speak for themselves, but I am most impressed by his character, his values, and his life story. #GOAT,” Mr. Sityodtong’s post read.
Mr. Johnson also confirmed the deal by writing, “Sliding my way to @ONEChampionship,” in his own Twitter account.
The former UFC lightweight champion, who is 32 years old and holds a professional record of 27-3-1, was reportedly released from his UFC contract in exchange for Mr. Askren, who was in turn released by ONE.
Mr. Askren is now set to make his long-awaited UFC debut.
Mr. Johnson last saw action in August where he lost his UFC flyweight title to Henry Cejudo by split decision.
Before losing his title, Mighty Mouse was one of the longest-reigning UFC champions, making 11 successful title defenses, and was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in mixed martial arts.
Now with ONE, Mr. Johnson said he is looking forward to the fresh challenges here in Asia, which would include a possible matchup with reigning ONE flyweight world champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio of the Philippines.
Mr. Johnson’s signing comes two weeks after former UFC lightweight champion Alvarez signed a multi-bout deal with ONE. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
