Demetrious Johnson supports the Paul brothers and believes they will make something of themselves in combat sports.
Demetrious Johnson has always been one of the best fighters in the world, but he’s also one of the most shrewd businessmen in the sport. He understood from early on that he’d have to hustle in other ways to build his brand, and ended up being the only MMA fighter to date with an XBox sponsorship due to his video game obsession and skills.
So when it comes to the more income-driven part of combat sports that have come up lately his opinion on the subject should be heard, because it’s valuable. And Mighty Mouse is not deriding people that Jake and Logan Paul who have come in and shaken up the combat sports world. He supports them, and in an interview with MMA Junkie, he explained why.
“When you have unlimited money, when you have millions of dollars and you don’t have to do a 9-5 job, you have the best access to the trainers, you have the best access to nutrition, you train for eight weeks for somebody, you are gonna become the product of something. So people think that Jake Paul, Logan Paul, they just got off the couch playing video games, that’s not the f—king case. These guys are training like full-time athletes. These guys train better than some of the professional athletes that have been in the game for five or 10 years,” Johnson said.
“I support the YouTubers, the TikTokers and the thing is, at the end of the day it’s about making money. Those guys have such a big following and a lot of the athletes complain how Jake Paul, Logan Paul, those guys are making million-dollar paydays and us athletes have been in this sport for years and will never see a payday like that. The reality is your brand and your likeness or your following is what sells, and I’ve learned that from when I was in a North-America-based promotion and it’s proven to this day.”
Johnson (30-4-1) is coming off an April loss to Adriano Moraes in ONE, and is waiting for his next fight booking.