"We wanted to make it a magical memory" - Chatri Sityodtong honored to give MMA legend Demetrious Johnson a fitting send-off
Demetrious Johnson tugged the heartstrings of fans inside Ball Arena and millions watching at home with his emotional farewell at ONE 168: Denver on Sept. 6.
'Mighty Mouse', who's considered one of the best martial artists of all time, officially announced his retirement from MMA in a beautiful ceremony. The former flyweight MMA world champion couldn't hold back his tears after being showered with love from his adoring fans in his final walk to the circle.
ONE's Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong also awarded 'DJ' a fitting parting gift, announcing him as the first inductee to the promotion's Hall of Fame.
During the post-event press conference, Sityodtong expressed his delight at how ONE gave the GOAT candidate a memorable send-off:
"We wanted to make it a magical memory. That’s something we always talk about at ONE, of course we have the greatest fighters on the planet like Liam and DJ, the world’s best of the best. But, one of our ethos is we wanna create magical moments that last a lifetime for our fans."
The world's largest martial arts organization's head honcho continued:
"So we hope that tonight was a magical memory for everyone with their families and their kids. You said there were a lot of kids in the audience."
Watch the ONE 168: Denver post-event press conference in its entirety:
Chatri Sityodtong says Demetrious Johnson's retirement ceremony was handled perfectly
While Demetrious Johnson initially wanted a low-key retirement, he eventually acknowledged that he needed to properly bid farewell to those who supported him throughout the years.
During the post-event presser, Chatri Sityodtong shared how the amazing ONE team managed to honor the MMA legend one final time:
"our phenomenal marketing team got the ball rolling. They said we wanna do it in a special way [for] the greatest martial artist of all time. Come out with a beautiful, moving video, highlighting some of his biggest achievements and have him say goodbye to the fans on live broadcast in 195 countries."
The full replay of ONE 168: Denver is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.