Demetrious Johnson was nearly brought to tears after watching his close friend Israel Adesanya get knocked out.
Adesanya, 35, headlined a stacked UFC Saudi Arabia card on Saturday night against Nassourdine Imavov with the hope of putting his name back in the hat for a title shot.
However, things went drastically wrong for the Nigerian-born New Zealand fighter, who was floored in the second round after catching a devastating right hand.
“Oh! No! F***! Get up Izzy!” Johnson said as Adesanya went crashing into the canvas.
“Get up! F***, f***. God dammit,” he added, looking distraught before wiping his right eye.
Johnson then sat in silence for a brief moment and sighed as he came to terms with what had just happened.
“Massive respect for Izzy to go over there and shake the hand of the man who knocked him out,” Johnson added.
“Now I’ve got a f***ing headache… Congratulations Nassourdine, I mean I’m happy, I’m not happy I’m actually f***ing mad.
“No I’m not happy, f*** that s***. Good for him, but…”
Adesanya showed class by sticking around to congratulate 29-year-old Imavov after their fight, but left the octagon without giving an interview.
He will now be left to contemplate his career in the face of defeat, with many MMA fans eager to find out what he will do next with his career.
Former UFC flyweight champion Johnson has previously been labeled as the greatest fighter of all time by Adesanya.
Johnson reacted to Adesanya’s comments at the time, saying that it was ‘awesome’, adding that he has nothing but respect for Adesanya.
Adesanya has also appeared on Johnson’s podcast where the pair discussed the former’s introduction to MMA and his four fights with Alex Pereira.
Adesanya’s last victory in the UFC came when he knocked out Brazil’s star Pereira in April 2023 to reclaim his middleweight title.
He then suffered back-to-back title defeats to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, and has now made that three on the bounce with his loss to Imavov.
Johnson hasn’t fought in the UFC since dropping his flyweight title to Henry Cejudo in August 2017.
‘Mighty Mouse’ defended his flyweight belt a record-breaking 11 times between 2013 and 2017, and is regarded as one of MMA’s greatest-ever fighters.
Alexandre Pantoja is the current UFC flyweight champion and told Johnson to come out of retirement and fight him after defending his belt for the third time at UFC 310 in December.
“Demetrious Johnson I’m the GOAT here. If you want to prove you’re the GOAT, come back,” he said.
Johnson responded to Pantoja at the time, saying he would not be coming out of retirement to fight him for any amount of money.
MMA fans showed sympathy with Johnson with their reactions to his video.
One wrote: “That was real passion from mighty mouse.”
While another said: “Never seen DJ so animated.”
A third added: “This is the most p***ed off I’ve ever seen DJ. He’s never been this p***ed in any of his own fights.”