A controversy that had been simmering beneath the surface has finally reached a boiling point, resulting in the apparent end of a popular MMA podcast collaboration.
The partnership between controversial YouTuber MMA Guru and former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson appears to have come to an abrupt conclusion. This follows the resurfacing of old content involving inappropriate comments about UFC fighter Marlon “Chito” Vera’s daughter.
The drama unfolded on social media when clips from 2019 and 2020 began circulating, showing The MMA Guru making or acknowledging controversial remarks during his live streams. Guru was on camera reading viewer donations and making jokes about fighter Marlon “Chito” Vera’s disabled daughter.
While the content creator defended himself by claiming most instances involved him merely reading out viewer donations and telling contributors not to post such material, the backlash proved severe enough to impact his professional relationships.
Taking to social media, The MMA Guru announced the cancellation of “The Mighty Guru Show,” his collaborative project with Johnson. In a frustrated statement, he wrote: “I was fine with you p*ssies on here acting like I was a murderer because I called someone inbred & told some guy spamming in my live chat to cry at a border but now youre targeting DJ, I’ll drop the news early. The Mighty Guru Show is over.”
The YouTuber attempted to contextualize the controversial material by comparing it to edgy comedy styles, stating it was “Kill Tony level s**t” and referencing British comedian Jimmy Carr. He also sought to distance himself from the jokes themselves, claiming he was primarily reading donations from viewers rather than originating the content.
Prior to the announcement, The MMA Guru revealed he had communicated with Johnson about the mounting pressure. “We spoke right after the Pod dropped about it,” he explained, adding that he had recently messaged the former champion “saying I’m good to back down.”
Additionally, Guru also made a YouTube video where he talked about the entire incident.
Guru acknowledged these moments, saying they were viewer superchats he responded to during early streams. “This is the best they’ve got… I’m a comedian on a live stream riffing with the super chats,” he defended, comparing it to roast-style comedy.
The controversy reignited after Guru’s recent UFC fight companion stream, where he told a viewer to “cry at a border” and made remarks about fighters he described as “inbred.” Guru explained these comments were directed at spam in his live chat during a stream with 27,000 viewers. “I’m in the middle of a fight companion. I see them a lot spamming and like just trashing me,” he stated. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, go cry at a border.'”
Guru revealed that Johnson had given him an ultimatum after producers and fighter friends expressed concerns. “DJ said, ‘You got to wind it back. Like we’ve really got to wind this back,'” Guru recounted. He explained Johnson needed him at “a two” out of ten on the controversy scale, but admitted: “I said, I’ll turn it down to a seven. And he said, ‘We need this at a two.’… And I was like in my head then I thought, I’m going to do it again.”
The YouTuber insisted he initiated the split to protect Johnson’s reputation: “I can’t drag someone along with me by association… I can’t keep doing that to DJ. I can’t drag someone along with me knowing full well in my head I’m going to do it again.”
For Johnson, a respected figure in mixed martial arts with a reputation built on professionalism and sportsmanship, the association became untenable as the old clips gained traction.
Throughout his response, Guru remained defiant about his content style. “I can’t not call fighters names. I can’t not trash the fighters,” he declared. “No amount of views… A show with DJ… Sponsorship money from the pod… I’m not going to change for that man.”
He emphasized Johnson made the right decision: “DJ stood his base and told me… if we’re ever going to continue this it all needs to stop… And I said, I can’t promise that it won’t happen.” The show, which regularly garnered 500,000-700,000 views per episode, ends after a successful but turbulent run that Guru admits was “never going to continue.”
Despite his defiant public stance, The MMA Guru acknowledged the situation had escalated beyond his control.
