Johnson still looking for the million dollar payday

Talent and ability are not always fairly compensated in the life. The world’s highest paid actor in 2017 is The Rock, with $64,500,000.

Althought The Rock exhibits remarkable remarkably agile eyebrows, he is not the world’s greatest actor.

So too with mixed martial arts.

The best pound for pound fighter in the UFC remains flyweight champion Demeterious Johnson. He is so dominant that the UFC took the unprecedented step of selecting 16 champions from smaller organizations, bringing them on The Ultimate Fighter, and having them go through a seeded, single-elimination tournament, with the winner getting a title shot. DJ is so good the UFC literally has to make up a new contender.

However, in a recent appearance on UFC Tonight, Johnson said he was still chasing that million dollar fight. By contrast, Brock Lesnar, Nate Diaz, and Conor McGregor all received multimillion dollar paydays, this summer alone.

I’m gonna keep on fighting the flyweight division,” said Johnson. “I’ve beaten the best guys already. I’ve beaten 1 and 2 and 3, I’ve beaten 1 and 2 multiple times, No. 2 is at bantamweight. Right now it’s about building that wealth, keep on making this money. Eventually, if that big fight presents itself … I’m searching for that seven-figure payday.

In the meantime, Johnson is rehabbing his knee, and waiting to fight the TUF 24 winner at the finale on Dec. 3.

The knee, it’s one of those things you’ve got to let it heal, he said, as transcribed by Tristen Critchfield for Sherdog. I’m hoping to get back to training Sept. 13 and get ready for Dec. 3.

It’s a paycheck. I always tell people, if you’re not going to take your opponent seriously, always take your paycheck seriously. Because the next time you fight, if you didn’t take this guy seriously, your paychecks aren’t going to have as many zeroes behind them. So for me I’m always focused, I’m a self motivated person and I’m ready to go out there and beat whoever the winner is.

Johnson’s last loss was before there even was a flyweight division, when he fought champion Dominick Cruz, losing via Unanimous Decision on October 1, 2011. DJ is open to moving up for a superfight, but is most intent on cementing his legacy at 135.

It was definitely a tough fight,” said Johnson. “Obviously I’ve been [improving] leaps and bounds [since] that… I’d rather submit my legacy by having 14 title defenses.

Dom’s not going anywhere. He’s gonna be at 135. I’ll hop up there and if the money’s right we’ll do it. Me and Dom have talked about this occasionally, and we want to make big money.