“We are designed to hate,” MMA ‘GOAT’ urges fighters to support each other like Chris Pratt in Hollywood protests

On the JAXXON podcast, MMA legend Demetrious Johnson contrasts the fighter community's division with Hollywood's unity, impacting efforts towards pensions and collective bargaining in the sport.

“We are designed to hate,” MMA ‘GOAT’ urges fighters to support each other like Chris Pratt in Hollywood protests

Chris Pratt supported SAG strike (Image via: Instagram)

Demetrious Johnson is the arguable GOAT of MMA. The former long-reigning UFC flyweight champion is the current flyweight champion at One Championships. Johnson was recently on the JAXXON podcast. On the podcast, Johnson mentioned Hollywood star Chris Pratt when he talked about fighter pensions.

Johnson delved into a wide variety of topics on the podcast hosted by Bear Degidio and Rampage Jackson. On the podcast, Jackson asked Johnson about whether MMA fighters would unionize and get pensions after retirement. This is what Johnson had to say about it.

As athletes, we are designed to hate each other... When you look at actor strikes in Hollywood, every single actor was behind each other, and they shut down Hollywood. MMA wouldn't do that.. You have Chris Pratt, who is one of the biggest actors right now.... He was supporting the D-listers, the F-listers who aren't even in the big movies... that's like Israel Adesanya coming to support a guy who just got in UFC, who's 0-1, right? If that happens, the organizations have no choice but to come to the table and create a bargaining agreement.....We're in mixed martial arts. We are all not one; we are all separate...So that's why no pension is ever going to happen until we all come together.
Demetrius Johnson via JAXXON Podcast
YouTube video

Johnson did not believe that MMA fighters could unionize and receive pensions. He found the fighter community to be very different than the actor community. The flyweight champion cited the example of Hollywood star Chris Pratt. Pratt supported even the D-list and F-list actors during the SAG strike.

FS Video

Chris Pratt is a big fan of the UFC. He has attended many live events and is a good friend of UFC CEO Dana White. In addition to Pratt, many Hollywood stars are big fans of the sport. To name a few, they are Mark Wahlberg, Jared Leto, and Adam Sandler.

MMA GOAT Demetrious Johnson on fans confusing his iconic nickname to Mickey Mouse

MMA legend Demetrious Johnson has one of the best nicknames in the sport – “Mighty Mouse.” The nickname closely resembles the name of the popular Disney character, Mickey Mouse. Johnson talked about the name mixup during his appearance on the JAXXON podcast.

Mickey Mouse Demetrious Johnson
Mickey Mouse (Image via: Epic Games)

Rampage Jackson asked whether his kids call him ‘Mickey Mouse.’ This is what Johnson said in reply,

All the fans do, though. I was just in Disneyland, like Mickey Mouse – like it's Mighty Motherf*cker! And then someone was talking to me and said, 'Mickey.' I said, 'Who the f*ck is Mickey?' He goes, 'Oh, I'm sorry, sir, Mighty Mouse.' Okay, glad you got it right.

Johnson has not fought since he defended the One Flyweight title against former champion Adriano Moraes. Moraes is the only fighter to finish Johnson in professional MMA. Johnson returned the favor in the rematch. Now, he is actively engaged in jiu-jitsu competitions and has also hinted at retirement.

In case you missed it!