Following Demetrious Johnson’s retirement last year, ONE Championship finally has a new flyweight king.
Johnson officially announced his retirement from the sport of MMA at ONE 168 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado last September following 15 months of uncertainty. His final fight was a headline victory at ONE Fight Night 10, the Asian promotion’s United States debut in May 2023.
After outpointing Adriano Moraes in their trilogy to keep hold of the ONE flyweight title, “Mighty Mouse” hinted that the victory may have marked his farewell. That ultimately turned out to be the case, with Johnson confirming his decision to hang up the gloves by delivering an emotional speech in front of his family and adoring fans.
Months later, the promotion began to move forward as life without Johnson got underway, announcing a vacant title fight between former champ Moraes and a man whom he’d already beaten, Yuya Wakamatsu.
That went down Sunday morning at ONE 172 in Japan, where the home favorite upset “Mikinho” with a first-round knockout.
The result means a name other than Johnson or Moraes now holds the flyweight title for the first time in over six years.
Wakamatsu won three straight over Wei Xie, Danny Kingad, and Gilbert Nakatani to earn a rematch with Moraes. “Little Piranha” previously made an unsuccessful challenge for the Brazilian’s belt back in 2022.
