Demetrious Johnson to Be Inducted Into UFC Hall of Fame Modern Wing in 2026

Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Modern Wing. The announcement came during the main card broadcast of UFC Seattle, and Johnson was in attendance.

Early career and move to flyweight

Johnson began his professional MMA career in 2009. He went 5-1 before joining the UFC after the promotion bought the WEC. He won his first two UFC fights and then challenged Dominick Cruz for the UFC bantamweight title in October 2011, losing that fight.

In 2012 Johnson moved down to the new UFC flyweight division. He fought Ian McCall to a draw, then beat McCall in a rematch. At UFC 152 he earned a controversial decision over Joseph Benavidez to become the first UFC flyweight champion.

Legendary title run and records

Johnson’s run as flyweight champion from 2012 to 2018 became one of the best in the sport. He made 11 consecutive title defenses, the most in UFC history. That streak also ranks as the second-most successful title defenses in the promotion’s history, behind Jon Jones.

He has the most UFC flyweight title fights and the most submission wins in UFC title fights, with five. Key highlights from his title reign include a last-second submission of Kyoji Horiguchi at UFC 186, a win over Henry Cejudo at UFC 197, and a flying armbar finish of Ray Borg at UFC 217. He lost the flyweight title to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 by split decision.

ONE Championship run and retirement

After losing the title to Cejudo, Johnson moved to ONE Championship in a deal that involved Ben Askren. He won the ONE Flyweight Grand Prix but was finished by Adriano Moraes at ONE on TNT 1 in April 2021.

Johnson later beat Moraes to win the ONE flyweight title in a rematch in August 2022. He then won the trilogy fight in May 2023. That trilogy win was the final fight of his career; Johnson retired as the ONE flyweight champion.

Hall of Fame class and legacy

Johnson will be inducted into the Modern Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class. The class also includes Dominick Cruz and the UFC 248 bout between Weili Zhang and Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The Hall of Fame honor recognizes Johnson’s role in building the flyweight division and his long run at the top of the sport.