MMA legend Demetrious Johnson is considered to be one of the greatest of all time. So fans were greatly surprised when the UFC traded him to ONE Championship in 2018. The UFC ended up swapping Johnson for Ben Askren from ONE Championship, which left many puzzled.
However, recent revelations from Johnson shed light on the underlying reasons behind his departure.
In his recent video, Johnson revealed: “They specifically said, ‘We do not give pay-per-view points to flyweight guys, 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 theircontract that they got pay-per-view points every single time.”
Unlike their counterparts in higher weight divisions who received substantial bonuses upon clinching the championship title, flyweight athletes were excluded from this privilege. Johnson’s frustration was palpable as he recounted how despite an impressive record of 11 consecutive title defenses, he never received the PPV bonuses that were standard for champions in other weight classes.
He went on to say: “For me, it was never that. If I would’ve got pay-per-view points every single time I defended my belt, 11 consecutive title defenses, you
put me on three Conor McGregor cards, yeah.”
Addressing claims made by UFC President Dana White, Johnson clarified that he did request PPV points. However, he was met with resistance.
“When Dana White says I didn’t want pay-per-view points, that’s not true. I asked for pay-per-view points… [Going to ONE] was the best decision I have ever made in my whole entire career. If I could do it again, I would do it ten times again… 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.”
Johnson said that he has no animosity against White since he is happy and successful. However, it is still a surprise that one of the best mixed martial artists in history received less money than a competitor who was just starting out.