Retired UFC champion Demetrious Johnson was so good that brain health improved over course of career

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Demetrious Johnson is one of the most accomplished MMA fighters of all time. The surefire future Hall Of Famer captured UFC gold in 2012 then defended it a record 11 times, showing dominance in every facet of MMA. After being traded to One Championship in 2018, “Mighty Mouse” again became a champion, defended his belt, and retired on top.

All told, Johnson was a professional fighter for 14 years and 30 professional fighters, retiring with a 25-4-1 record. It was a long and successful career by any metric, but even with winning fighters who walk away at the right time, there’s still concern about longterm health when it comes to combat sports.

Fortunately, Johnson believes himself to be in a good spot. In a recent appearance on Six Feet Under with Mark Calaway, Johnson revealed that he’s been monitoring his brain health for over a decade with the Cleveland Clinic, a top medical facility sponsored in part by UFC putting research into the effects of head trauma on professional athletes.

According to Johnson, his brain health isn’t only well, but it’s outright better than ever and has improved over the course of his fighting career.

“After doing the whole testing from 2012 to 2023, he looks at my brain scan and he goes, ‘Demetrious, your brain has not aged one bit in your whole entire career. You’ve gotten smarter. You enunciate better than you did in 2012.’ Which is supposed to happen, as you age you’re supposed to get more wisdom, more intelligent.

“He goes, ‘Your brain hasn’t changed one bit. You’re lucky.’”

Despite Johnson’s dominance in the cage, he certainly was hurt on a few occasions. Adrian Moraes became the only man to stop “Mighty Mouse” in 2022 after landing a huge uppercut and grounded knee, but men like Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson also floored him with punches. There’s also countless rounds of sparring to consider, which makes it all the more impressive that Johnson appears to be walking away from the sport with his health fully intact.

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