Demetrious Johnson Discusses Why He’ll Only Fight Dillashaw On ‘Stacked’ Pay-Per-View
Dominant UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson has accomplished just about everything in mixed martial arts (MMA), including breaking Anderson Silva’s record for most consecutive title defense with a jaw-dropping submission of Ray Borg at UFC 216, but he’s yet to attain a status that may be desired above all else in today’s UFC – becoming a legitimate pay-per-view draw.
The fact he has not after essentially cleaning out the 125-pound weight class with one dominant performance after another could mean ‘Mighty Mouse’ will need to take on bigger challenges to get headlines, the reason he’s been linked to a super fight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw for the better part of the last year.
Although resistant at first, Johnson has seemed to warm up to the idea, recently targeting International Fight Week in July for the champion vs. champion tilt. And in a recent discussion about the scenario with ESPN, Johnson flatly said he’s aiming for the biggest show he can get on because he’s deserving of such a spot:
“That’s what the UFC wants. It’s the superfight everyone wants. I think TJ and I are both on board. We just want to make sure it’s on a stacked card. We want to make sure we can benefit from a good pay-per-view buy. I think I deserve it, and I think he deserves it.”
Seemingly coming to terms that he could not headline a pay-per-view smash only by himself, ‘Mighty Mouse’ admitted he wanted a true draw in the headliner’s spot so he could get paid.
To him, it’s not a way to duck fights or any other criticism he hears about, but more of a way to maximize your earnings by being a savvy businessman:
“I’d rather have somebody else [be the] main event, who is going to bring in way more PPVs. In my opinion, that’s held up the fight on my end.
“I’ve seen guys jump on [stacked] PPV cards and make $1.5 million, fighting an inferior opponent than who I’m about to fight. Me and TJ could fight on a smaller card and pull 275,000 buys, get an extra check for $75,000. My management told me, ‘You know what, we’ll hold out for a big event.’
“A lot of media and fans think that’s a way of turning down fights or ducking someone, but that’s a way of being a smart businessman and getting the most money you can get. … I’ll wait for that opportunity, because in that one card, I’ll basically make more money than three fights — a year and a half of my life — [combined].”
Finally, not only does he insist it be on a massive card, but ‘Mighty Mouse’ even knows what kind of an event he’s looking for – one with three title fights on it – and he even named which bouts he wants on the card:
“If we can get three title fights — a champions vs. champions edition — that should do well,” Johnson said. “”If they did Georges St-Pierre vs. Tyron Woodley, Amanda Nunes vs. Cyborg [Cris Justino] and me vs. TJ, they can send me the contract. They can negotiate that contract now.”
