Demetrious Johnson takes a stand: Stacked card or else
Demetrious Johnson: “I’m not going to sit here and f@$%ing argue. … You want to strip me? Fine, perfect. Strip me. I’ll work my way back up the ladder.”
UFC champions defending their title on a pay per view get points – a percentage of the gross that can add up to low millions of dollars. UFC 216 was headed by UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson vs. the unheralded Ray Borg and Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee for the Interim lightweight championship. It did a reported 120,000 buys. UFC 215: Nunes vs. Shevchenko 2 did a reported 100,000 buys. By contrast, UFC 217: Bisping vs Georges St-Pierre did a reported 875,000 buys, and that was only the 20th biggest of all time.
A superfight between Johnson and bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is in the works. In a recent interview with Brett Okamoto for ESPN, ‘Mighty’ said the fight has to be on a stacked card – one with big names, and thus big PPV buys, and thus a slice of a big pie.
“It’s the superfight everyone wants,” said Johnson. “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.”
“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].”
Johnson even has an event and date picked out – UFC 226 on July 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“If we can get three title fights, a champions vs. champions edition, that should do well,” said Johnson. “If they did Georges St-Pierre vs. Tyron Woodley, Amanda Nunes vs. Cyborg and me vs. TJ, they can send me the contract. They can negotiate that contract now.”
“I’m straightforward. If UFC comes back and says, ‘You know what, Demetrious, we’re not going to give you that,’ I’ll say, ‘Perfect, send me the No. 1 contender in the flyweight division and TJ can stay up and fight whoever he wants.’ That’s how I am when it comes to this.
“I’m not going to sit here and f***ing argue. This is what I want. If you’re not going to give it to me, that’s fine. I’ll just keep fighting guys in my division. You want to strip me? Fine, perfect. Strip me. I’ll work my way back up the ladder.
“I’ve beat everyone in my division. Now I’m waiting for my opportunity to be on the kind of card that makes that kind of money. And I’m not trying to piggyback off anyone else. I feel I bring a lot to the table – 11 title defenses. I should get that opportunity. If people disagree, that’s their problem. That’s what I feel I am worth.”
