Double champ Christian Lee lauds Demetrious Johnson’s decision to retire at the top: “It’s smart”
Two-division MMA world champion Christian Lee believes Demetrious Johnson made the right decision to retire while still on top.
Returning to the circle at ONE 168: Denver last month, the pound-for-pound great and ONE flyweight MMA world champion officially laid down his gold and announced that he would be walking away from mixed martial arts after nearly two decades of dominance.
During a recent interview with Cageside Press, Christian Lee lauded Johnson's decision to leave the sport with his health and his head still held high:
"Yeah, it’s smart because it’s so unfortunate that you see the former legends who were champions once and they just fight past their prime, some of them take fights they shouldn’t have taken," Lee said. "And then you see them go out on a losing streak."
See the interview below:
'Mighty Mouse' closed his career as a multi-time world champion. He is a former ONE flyweight MMA title, a ONE Flyweight MMA World Grand Prix Championship winner, and the first-ever inductee into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.
Christian Lee returns for a clash with Alibeg Rasulov at ONE 169 in Bangkok
On Friday, Nov. 8, Christian Lee will continue his own Hall of Fame campaign when he returns to the circle after sitting on the sidelines for the last two years.
Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, ONE 169 will see 'The Warrior' return to put his ONE lightweight MMA world championship on the line against unbeaten Turkish sensation Alibeg Rasulov.
Rasulov earned the opportunity to challenge Lee with a big win over Ok Rae Yoon at ONE Fight Night 23 in July.
For Lee, it will be his first time competing since scoring an epic come-from-behind TKO against Kiamrian Abbasov to capture the ONE welterweight MMA world title. Now, the two-division titleholder will put his 26 pounds of lightweight gold on the line when ONE heads back to 'The Land of Smiles'.
Fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 169 live on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Nov. 8 in U.S. primetime.