Demetrious Johnson DIVES DEEP into past UFC contracts and clears beef with Dana White over PPV points

Demetrious Johnson sheds light on compensation while at UFC – and the imbalance between fighter pay and PPV points.

Demetrious Johnson DIVES DEEP into past UFC contracts and clears beef with Dana White over PPV points

Demetrious Johnson clears air around beef with Dana White (Source: Instagram/IMAGO)

Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson has long had a chip on his shoulder about pay details and Dana White. The flyweight legend has long voiced his unease, clipping away at his shocking pay during his UFC tenure. Recently, he has gone into details again while conversing with Ariel Helwani.

With a very recent BJJ win, Johnson rings true to being an all-time G.O.A.T. Considerably the greatest flyweight in MMA history; he now fights for the ONE Championship promotion. Away from the clutches of UFC and Dana White, he doesn’t shy away from voicing how shockingly meager numbers he earned. 

They came in and said, 'Hey, we have a brand new tournament coming up'...fought Ian McCall; was about to fight McCall again, they gave me new contract - 20 & 20. Then I went right in and I fought Benavidez again, was up for a new contract, they offered 125 and 50,000 [win bonus]. I said I want your points too. And they said, we don't give it to flyweights.
Demetrious Johnson via The MMA Hour (for MMAFighting for SBN)
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Legacy didn’t always lead to the best pay for the former UFC flyweight champ. Demetrious Johnson thus debunked the rumor that he refused PPV points. Facing Dominick Cruz (for the bantamweight strap in 2011), he unhappily went for 14-14  ($14,000 to show/win.) Johnson could have made more money if he had PPV points on his contract.

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With a shunned base pay at the peak of his run, Johnson thus demanded to fight on for PPV points instead of opting for free agency later. However, the flyweight was refused, with White veering towards “heavier guys.” He also recently sniped at WWE superstar CM Punk receiving a $500K base without any experience as a professional MMA fighter. On the other hand, DJ only received PPV point compensation on his last bout with Henry Cejudo. All in all, ‘Might Mouse’ had a very staggering exit from UFC.

Demetrious Johnson slams prominent website for spoiling TUF News

Flyweight veteran and current ONE titleholder Demetrious Johnson remains quite a revered name. So much so that The Ultimate Fighter 24 was based solely around that. The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions (or TUF 24: Benavidez vs. Team Cejudo) enlisted flyweights from various promotions worldwide. The prize was the opportunity to face the UFC Flyweight champion.

Flyweight G.O.A.T Demetrious Johnson has had a contentious relation with Dana White and Co.
Demetrious Johnson has had a contentious relation with Dana White and Co. (Source: Instagram/Twitter)

The coaches for the season were former title challengers Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo. Johnson recently went on yet another verbal tirade, refuting claims of refusing PPV points. Additionally, he also ripped prominent MMA coverage website Bloody Elbow for spreading misinformation.

I'm playing video games on Twitch, and they go, Hey, do you hear about the one of the fighters thing?…Oh, they're doing a division based around you, and you fight the winner of all this champion. I was like, That's fu*king stupid. Dana White calls me the next day. He goes, 'You dumba**, you did this interview,' blah, blah… And he goes, 'Here's the link. Let me send it to you…God bless, Bloody Elbow.' They always drop them dumb sh*t…
Demetrious Johnson via The MMA Hour (for MMAFighting for SBN)

A fan on Twitch Live had spoiled the TUF 24 stipulation of the winner facing the flyweight champ. However, a rattled Dana White mistakenly thought that he had done an interview and sneered at him, based on an article by Bloody Elbow.

He further said that this only further complicated his standing with White, making him out to be the bad guy instead. Johnson would later successfully edge out the winner, Tim Elliot, via a decision win (49–46, 49–46, 49–45). He would even face Cejudo in his last promotional bout. As for Bloody Elbow, it has not seen better days in recent times.

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