Demetrious Johnson Pondering Fight Future Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
Demetrious Johnson admits he is pondering his fighting future amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Johnson won the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix in October last year and was expected to face current champion Adriano Moraes in April only for the event to be canceled due to the pandemic.
And having not competed for over a year now, “Mighty Mouse” is concerned about mutating strains of COVID-19 or a potential new virus emerging which only further halt his fighting career.
If that is the case, he is going to have start thinking about doing something else.
“I hope we don’t see a COVID-22, knock on wood right now,” Johnson told MMA Junkie Radio. “You just never know. I mean, COVID-19, like I’m not going to lie – I was getting ready for this fight, I had my ticket booked to go out to Jakarta, and then this (explicit) just happened.
“And then to sit on the sidelines for a full year, I’m going to have to start thinking about something else because it only takes one new virus to wipe out your entire career. I thought, ‘What if I never fight again? What if I never fight again because of COVID-19?’”
ONE would resume operations in the summer but with fighters like Johnson based in the United States, there are plenty of obstacles in getting them to compete in Asia which is where the promotion mainly holds their events.
For now, there is no update for Johnson and other fighters such as Eddie Alvarez and Sage Northcutt.
“I might never fight again, all that needs to happen is COVID 2022, and everything gets shut down, no live events,” Johnson said. “COVID-19 didn’t really hit me hard. I didn’t care about fighting. I just cared about being with my wife and kids, helping them being successful in their schooling.
“Obviously, me staying healthy for when the time comes I can be ready to fight. But when the COVID-19 hit, I was more father-retirement mode because when else I’m I going to fight again, I don’t know.”
What do you think of the current situation with American-based ONE fighters?
