Demetrious Johnson Plans To Become Full-Time Gamer After Retiring From MMA

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is planning for his future. He recently appeared on the Three Amigos podcast and revealed he wants to become a full-time gamer on Twitch.tv after he hangs up his gloves.

“I heard you could watch people play videogames, and that’s how I discovered Twitch,” Johnson said. “This is when I had Tyren, who is now two and a half years old. I would rock him to sleep at night, and he would take a while, so I downloaded the Twitch app to watch. I saw guys playing games I grew up with like Mega Man X and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. So after some time I started streaming some games on my PS4. I’d have like two viewers in there as I played Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn.

“Next thing you know, my wife was like, ‘You should get into it baby, what do you want to do after you’re done fighting? Why don’t you try streaming?’ Then Twitch reached out to me and told me everything I needed to get to be a serious streamer. All of the credit goes to my wife, she’s the one who suggested I do it. I decided if I was going to do it, I had to be 100% in. I didn’t want to do it half-assed and try to stream from my PS4 or Xbox One, so I bought a computer and she was all in, so I was like, ‘Let’s do it.’

“Since I’ve started streaming I spend at least 15 hours a week playing games, maybe more,” he continued. “My brain needs to be stimulated. I look at streaming like a side project, and I take my side projects and my jobs very seriously. Streaming on Twitch isn’t just about playing videogames, it’s about building a community amongst your fans. Right now most of my community is MMA fans, but I’m hoping to break down that barrier and attract the gaming community. I don’t just play first person shooters, I don’t just play the UFC game, I play Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Overwatch, Diablo, StarCraft.

“You have to think about what you’re going to do after your career. I’ve always thought about going back to work at a warehouse or whatever I need to do to make ends meet, but now streaming and video gaming is just kicking off. All I care about is the next game coming out next month. I’m still fighting, I’m in the prime of my career and train my ass off every single day, but I’m starting my second career now. Why not? I’m building my viewership and community now, so when I’m 38 years old and I’m done fighting I can have streaming as my main source of income, hopefully.”

Johnson will next fight Henry Cejudo at UFC 197 on April 23rd. UFC 197 takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.