Despite defending his UFC flyweight title an unprecedented 11 times, Demetrious Johnson never received pay-per-view bonuses or incentives for being the most dominant champion in promotional history.
From September 2012 to August 2018 defeated some of the biggest names in flyweight history, including Ian McCall, Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, Kyoji Horiguchi, Henry Cejudo, and Ray Borg. He is undoubtedly one of the pound-for-pound greatest of all time. Unfortunately, Dana White and the UFC largely ignored ‘Mighty Mouse’ and his entire division because they didn’t have the drawing power of the lightweight or light heavyweight fighters.
As a result, Johnson was never given pay-per-view points for his time as the flyweight champion, which is something that fighters across the board are typically entitled to once they rise to the top of their respective division.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Demetrious Johnson responded to an interview where the UFC claims that DJ straight-up declined to receive points in favor of a lump-sum payout.
Johnson says that’s bullsh*t.
“I fought and fought, they specifically said we don’t give PPV points to flyweight guys, but if you’re a lightweight,” Johnson said. “A welterweight, a middleweight, heavyweight — I have been told that once they become champion, they get $500,000 flat and it went straight into their contract that they got pay-per-view points every single time. For me, it was never that.
“If I would have gotten pay-per-view points for every single time I defended my belt… 11 title defenses. You put me on three Conor McGregor cards…”When Dana White says I didn’t want pay-per-view points, that’s not true. I asked for pay-per-view points.”
Demetrious Johnson reacts to CM Punk’s reported purse for his two UFC appearances
Johnson also took exception to the fact that current WWE Superstar CM Punk received a more favorable payout during his less-than-stellar appearances inside the Octagon.
Per a report from Bloody Elbow (before the pillaging of the once-great site), CM Punk received a base salary of $500,000 for both of his fights, though it was noted that the Second City Saint actually walked away with more than a million dollars for the ass-kickings he took against Mickey Gall and Mike Jackson.
“This guy comes in and gets a base salary of 500 f*cking thousand dollars and potential pay-per-view bonuses and other financial incentives in his contract,” Johnson exclaimed. “I defended the f*cking belt 11 times and I didn’t get any of this.”
Demetrious Johnson’s run in the UFC came to an end in 2018 after he surrendered his flyweight title to Henry Cejudo. ‘Mighty Mouse’ was then moved to ONE Championship in a historic trade that sent Ben Askren to the UFC. Upon his arrival, Johnson rattled off three straight victories to win the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Tournament, setting the stage for an epic trilogy with former ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes.
Johnson also competed in a first-of-its-kind special rules bout against Muay Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon under the ONE banner. With alternating rounds of MMA and Muay Thai, Johnson survived the first round before submitting ‘The Iron Man’ in the second via RNC.
“It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my whole entire career,” Johnson said of his move to ONE. “If I could do it again, I would do it ten times. And here’s the thing — I have nothing against Dana White. I am a man who is happy. I’ve been successful and I believe in my skill set.”
Johnson still sits as the reigning ONE flyweight titleholder, but he has not yet decided if he will return to defend his title or retire from MMA altogether.
