It doesn’t appear that even the unstoppable Alexandre Pantoja can draw UFC flyweight legend Demetrious Johnson out of retirement.
Pantoja further enhanced his legacy on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage this weekend, emerging victorious from the UFC 310 pay-per-view main event inside Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
Having begun his reign with successful defenses against Brandon Royval and Steve Erceg after dethroning Brandon Moreno in 2023, “The Cannibal” was dealt a unique challenge on Saturday night. Sharing the cage with him was a promotional newcomer in Kai Asakura.
The former Rizin bantamweight champion arrived with an impressive résumé and plenty of hype, and an early flying knee confirmed the Japanese star as an exciting addition to the division. But it wasn’t to be for Asakura in his debut, as he fell by way of submission to Pantoja in round two.
With that, Pantoja has firmly placed himself among the all-time greats and brought about some uncertainty over fresh opponent options in 2025. He proposed a solution to that during his Octagon interview, however, calling out “Mighty Mouse.”
Johnson — who enjoyed a record-breaking, six-year flyweight reign in the UFC before finding success in ONE Championship — was quick to react to “The Cannibal’s” comments, reiterating that he intends to stick to the retirement he announced at ONE 168 in Denver this past September.
“Guys I got offered 2 million dollars to fight!! I turned it down I don’t care to fight anymore YouTube video dropping soon,” Johnson wrote on X.
Of course, beyond just Johnson’s lack of interest in a comeback, there would be the small matter of his contractual situation with ONE, Asia’s largest martial arts organization. The likelihood of the promotion and its CEO, Chatri Sityodtong, releasing “Mighty Mouse” for a UFC return against Pantoja would appear extremely slim.
That hasn’t stopped fans getting behind Pantoja’s callout, though, with many pushing for the legendary former champ to make another walk to the cage in his illustrious career.
