Demetrious Johnson says The Ultimate Fighter played a role in his eventual departure from the UFC.
Johnson is one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, holding the record for most title defenses in history at 11. But despite his many accolades with the promotion, Johnson finished his UFC career somewhat at odds with the company, traded to ONE Championship following his split-decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. The trade came after Johnson’s relationship with the UFC had taken a turn , one that “Mighty Mouse” says started with The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions, where the UFC brought in 16 flyweight champions from around the world to compete for a shot at Johnson’s flyweight title.
“It was when I was streaming on Twitch,” Johnson said on The MMA Hour when asked when things changed for him. Johnson said, “It was when I was streaming on Twitch. I became more vocal.” What they’re going to do next?’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ and he goes, ‘They’re going to do The Ultimate Fighter, it’s going to be all the champions and they’re going fight you and the winner gets to fight [for the belt].’ And I go, ‘Well that’s f****** stupid.’ And then I was like, ‘What about the guys on a five-fight win streak? What about Joseph Benavidez? “They’re going to skip it?” I replied, and I received a call the next morning from Dana White.
“Dana White did not call me while I was at the UFC. He called and he goes, ‘You dumbass! This whole thing that we were trying to setup for you has been ruined! Blah, blah, blah.’ And I was like, ‘Well I just found out online from a random dude on Twitch and I gave him an honest opinion.’ And then he goes, ‘Sean Shelby didn’t call you?’ ‘No, he didn’t call me.’ And he goes, ‘Alright. Bye.’ He hangs up and the next day I get a call from Sean Shelby, ‘Hey, yeah bro –‘ Too late! Too late dude.”
“Matt [Hume] said, “Dude, take your fault.” Johnson said, “I’m not taking blame.” Johnson continued, “I did nothing wrong.” This was my instinctive reaction when I was told the news by a friend. I must hide my emotions This is not a problem. It was almost like she just went. Slowly, slowly I just started being more me and that’s where I’m at now.”
Johnson went on to successfully defend his title against that season’s winner, Tim Elliott. The UFC was then involved in Johnson’s second defense of his title. But that is when things really began to change for him. The UFC wanted Johnson to face bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw. Johnson would also be making his debut at flyweight. Negotiations were difficult though and White routinely threw his champion under the bus, ultimately leading to Johnson issuing his own public statement about the “mistreatment and bullying” he received at the hands of the UFC. Johnson said that Johnson realized how powerful the UFC was in his relationships.
“They wanted us to fight T.J. Dillashaw and I said we’ll fight him for $1 million,” Johnson recalled. “Then the thing was, I knew T.J. couldn’t make 125 healthy. Matt and I both knew this. We knew that because he’s already shredded at 135… So Matt wanted to put it in the contract saying if T.J. Dillashaw does not make weight at 125, we fight him for his belt, and they said no. ‘We’re not doing that.’ Okay then, well, what’s going to happen and that’s when they were like, ‘We’re going to close the division.’ So I said I’ll fight T.J. for $1 million. It’s a superfight! It’s a superfight!
“Everything that a champion — one of the things that I want to have happen when I’m done fighting is I want Matt to be like, ‘Out of all the people I’ve ever worked with and trained, Demetrious was the easiest person I’ve trained. Demetrious was always on-time, didn’t have any problems with weight loss, and was a pleasure to train with. “Who would you like me to fight?” I say when I arrive. “I’ll fight the next man.” But then they got murky. Let’s add $1 million. “No. That can’t happen.” Okay. Let’s add $6 million. “No, that’s not possible.” Okay. So where is my power in being a champion? Where’s my power in being a champion?”
The answer was ultimately very little. Johnson did end up defending his title for the eleventh time, submitting Ray Borg with one of the most incredible moves in UFC history, and then lost his title in a rematch with Henry Cejudo. Soon after, he was traded to ONE Championship. But it wasn’t all bad for Johnson in the UFC. Looking back, he still speaks highly of his time in the organization.
“It was a crazy time,” Johnson said. “And I’m super grateful for the opportunity that I had, because if they wouldn’t have made a 125-pound division, then I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. 11 consecutive title defenses, the Ray Borg armbar, it was a great platform to be on and I took advantage of it and made the best of it. I might not have sold 4. 1 million pay-per-view buys, but when it came time to come out there and put on a show and f****** fight, I did my thing.”
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