If We’ve Seen Last Of “Mighty Mouse” In UFC, The Timing Was Bad
Earlier today (Wed., October 24, 2018) the mixed martial arts (MMA) universe was hit with the shocking news that the UFC was reportedly ‘trading’ Demetrious Johnson to ONE Championship for Ben Askren.
The move, though wholly exciting itself, left many an MMA fan with their jaw wide open to the floor. There had never really been a trade in MMA until now. The deal is not official yet, so it may not happen. If it does, it will amount to both Johnson and Askren being released from their current contracts with the UFC and ONE Championship.
MMA’s First Trade
They will then sign with the other promotion in an unprecedented move. It appears to be all but a formality. That was clear after Askren said there was a ’98 percent’ chance he’d go to the UFC. The signing would come on the heels of ONE’s highly publicized signing of former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. ONE Championship is an up-and-coming force, and they’re doing excellent by making waves with such high-profile acquisitions.
You also can’t blame Johnson for trying to maximize his earning potential after years of complaining about pay in the UFC. He was the most dominant pound-for-pound force in the UFC up until his razor-thin split decision loss to Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. Yet that lofty status on every UFC rankings update never translated into mainstream star success. That’s a shame, really.
If he can get paid by ONE and become one of their biggest stars, he should absolutely take advantage of that. It may not come along again.
The One Bad Thing
But there’s just one thing that makes it feel like the timing was a bit off. That’s simply because the 32-year-old “Mighty Mouse” had a score to settle with Cejudo. He lost a close fight many felt he still won. In their first fight, he demolished ‘The Messenger’ with ease. It’s easy to see how much Cejudo has evolved, but he didn’t run through ‘Mighty Mouse’ whatsoever.
Building on that, with Johnson rumored to be leaving, the UFC flyweight division’s future looks to be on shaky footing. Cejudo has been teasing a superfight with bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw ever since he won the belt. Johnson defeated most of the top contenders handily. There’s not much to suggest fans want to see Cejudo do the same. He’s had to beat many of them to earn his title shots in the first place.
Let Cejudo fight Dillashaw. “Mighty Mouse” has some significant injuries to take care of anyway. Those injuries may have affected his performance at UFC 227. I won’t make any excuses for the former champ, because Cejudo’s gameplan was a great one. The Johnson vs. Cejudo trilogy was one match-up the sport deserved to witness. We had to know if ‘Mighty Mouse’ was truly no longer the top dog at flyweight.
Division In Peril
Now, we may not even see the division survive in the UFC. That, of course, isn’t ‘Mighty Mouse’s’ problem. A fighter’s window to get paid is short and volatile. The chance to finally get treated how they feel they should have been all along is arguably priceless.
No one can hate on the former champ for getting paid like he does deserve. He’s one of the best to ever step foot into the cage. Good on ONE Championship, too, for continuing to make the only type of signings that will push them to the UFC’s level.
But man, that Johnson vs. Cejudo was one hell of a fight we may never get to see again.
