Off the back of his impressive win last night in the headliner of UFC 310, Alexandre Pantoja’s pursuit of a super fight with Demetrious Johnson next year has already come to a halt — with the former flyweight kingpin confirming he has no plans to make a return from his recent retirement — disclosing some lucrative prior offers to make a comeback.
Taking on Japanese star, Kai Asakura in last night’s UFC 310 headliner, Brazilian fan-favorite, Pantoja would make rather short work of the former two-time Rizin FF champion, finishing the promotional debutante with a second round rear-naked choke in their grudge match.
With the victory, Pantoja turned in his third consecutive victory as flyweight champion in the space of a year, following a pair of prior decision wins over both contenders, Brandon Royval, and Steve Erceg.
And furthermore with last night’s win, Pantoja joined retired duo, Johnson and former title challenger, Joseph Benvidez — boasting the most wins at the flyweight limit in the UFC.
Offering the Kentucky fan-favorite a potential route back from his retirement earlier this year in the immediate aftermath of his win over Asakura, Pantoja claimed he was not the GOAt at the flyweight limit in the UFC, urging Johnson to make a return to face him.
Demetrious Johnson shuts down UFC return for title fight with Alexandre Pantoja
However, on social media following the call out, former ONE Championship grand prix win and championship holder, Johnson immediately turned down the offer — revealing he was offered in the region of $2,000,000 to fight in the future following his recent retirement.
“Guys I got offered 2 million dollars to fight!!” Demetrious Johnson posted on his official X account. “I turned it down I don’t care to fight anymore YouTube video dropping soon.”