Ray Borg: DJ Has ‘Held Back’ Flyweight Division
Originally, No. 3-ranked UFC flyweight contender Ray Borg was next in line to challenge Demetrious Johnson for the 125-pound title. Then, former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw offered to drop down in weight to take on “Mighty Mouse”, which has thrown the whole division into a frenzy.
Dillashaw obviously wants the fight with Johnson and UFC President Dana White is also interested in the bout. “Mighty Mouse”, however, is not, which has caused an ongoing back-and-forth feud between the pound-for-pound king and the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion.
Borg now seems to be the odd man out, and the 23-year-old appears to be losing patience:
“At first, at least my name was getting out there,” Borg told ESPN.com. “I thought, ‘Hey, if people didn’t know me before, they do now,” he said.
“But now, the longer it goes, the more annoying and stressful it gets. I have no f—ing clue what’s going on. It was me, TJ and Demetrious in this little bubble, trying to figure out who’s fighting who. Now, it’s all Dana and Demetrious going at it.”
In a lengthy statement released last week, Johnson accused the UFC of ‘bullying’ him, while adding in the fact that he hasn’t been marketed properly. “Mighty Mouse” also said that White threatened to close the flyweight division if he didn’t accept a bout with Dillashaw.
With that being said, Borg feels as if the flyweights haven’t had a chance to market themselves with Johnson holding a tight clamp on the division:
“It just sucks because D.J.’s problems with the UFC are his,” Borg said. “He’s not a marketable guy. Maybe it’s because he’s goofy or a family man, I don’t know. But he has his issues with the UFC and what drives me crazy is that it’s being taken out on the whole division. If D.J. has a situation with the UFC, cool. Keep it between those two. It doesn’t need to affect the rest of us trying to make our names and money for our families,” Borg said.
“The UFC is claiming they want to close the division because it doesn’t sell? We haven’t had a chance to sell. D.J. has been the only face, and that’s why it hasn’t sold. He’s kind of held it back a little — and that’s not his fault. He’s a great fighter, but unfortunately he’s not what the fans are about right now. They’re bored.”
What do you make of Borg’s comments?
