SUMMARY
- Demetrious Johnson opened up about the issues he faced during his time at the UFC under Dana White.
- DJ claimed White lied about him not wanting PPV points.
Demetrious Johnson is just one of the many fighters who left the UFC citing pay concerns. Johnson is one of the greatest fighters to grace the Octagon, however, UFC chief Dana White was not impressed with him.
In a recent YouTube video, Johnson, who is now a ONE Flyweight Champion, opened up about his conflict with White. He has revealed that White lied about his wants and made him look like the bad guy.
Initially, Johnson explained the discrimination his division faced. ‘Mighty Mouse’ claimed that flyweight fighters did not receive a PPV bonus.
“They specifically said, ‘we do not give pay-per-view points to flyweight guys,'” said Johnson. He explained that he got a $125,000 guaranteed salary plus a $50,000 win bonus for his initial title defenses. After defeating Joseph Benavidez in December 2013, he asked for a raise but did not get it. He continued to fight at the same pay scale which was raised to $350,000 after knocking out Henry Cejudo at UFC 197.
Demetrious Johnson talks about his feud with Dana White and the UFC:
“I fought and fought, they specifically said we don’t give PPV points to flyweight guys.
When Dana White says I didn’t want PPV points, that’s not true. I asked for PPV points.
Look at CM Punk. This guy comes… pic.twitter.com/8O3GtoC3bE
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 21, 2024
He continued, “But if you’re a lightweight or you’re a welterweight, middleweight, heavyweight, I’ve been told that once they became champion, they got $500,000 flat and it went straight in their contract that they got pay-per-view points every single time.”
Demetrious Johnson became the UFC Flyweight Champion in September 2012 at UFC 152. He went on to defend his title 11 times which is a UFC record.
Demetrious Johnson refutes Dana White’s claim about him not wanting PPV points
In his reaction video, DJ watched a clip where Dana White claimed that the former UFC Flyweight Champion did not ask for PPV points. White said that Johnson wanted up-front money because he was not confident in his ability to sell PPVs. White was disrespectful in his comments about Johnson.
Demetrious Johnson refuted this claim and said, “When Dana White says I didn’t want pay-per-view points, that’s not true. I asked for pay-per-view points…”
Nothing against CM Punk make half million for his mma debut.But I think champs should been make that too,people who dedicated a entire life.
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) September 12, 2016
He claimed that moving to ONE Championship was his best decision. Moreover, he made a comparison of his situation with CM Punk. He said, “Let’s look at CM Punk. This guy comes in and gets a base salary of $500,000. There were also potential pay-per-view bonuses and other financial incentives included in his contract. I had to defend the f**king belt [11] times and I couldn’t even get this.”
Many other fighters were left unhappy with how Punk made an exceptional amount of money for a debut loss. It should be noted that by the time CM Punk came into the UFC, he was an established name. His negotiation power was different from that of Johnson’s.
Demetrious Johnson does not hold anything against his former employer Dana White
Johnson’s 11th consecutive title dense was at UFC 216 against Ray Borg. He failed to defend his title in his 12th attempt at UFC 227 against Henry Cejudo. After completing his reign as champion, Johnson left the UFC and moved to ONE Championship. However, even after all the issues regarding pay, Johnson said he had nothing against White.
He said, “Here’s the thing I have nothing against Dana White. I am a man who’s happy. I’ve been successful, I believe my skill set, [and] I believe I am one of the best flyweights to ever walk this planet Earth. I don’t think there’ll be another person who can achieve what I have in the flyweight division [in] North America [and] Asia.”
Demetrious Johnson is an absolute legend.
• ONE Flyweight Champion
• 2019 ONE Flyweight Grand Prix Champion
• Inaugural UFC Flyweight Champion
• 11 UFC Flyweight title defenses
• Most consecutive title defenses in UFC history (11)
•Third most wins in UFC title fights… pic.twitter.com/lKMVu34PoD— Josh (@JUchiha909) May 2, 2023
Demetrious Johnson’s first attempt to win the ONE Flyweight Championship was a failure as he lost to Adriano Moraes via KO. But, in his second attempt, Johnson returned favors by knocking out Moraes and winning the title. At ONE Fight Night 10, Johnson successfully defended his title against Moraes via unanimous decision.