by King Hazard
Earlier this week, UFC flyweight champion and arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter of all-time Demetrious Johnson addressed his dissatisfaction with the UFC following title bout negotiations. At the moment, Johnson is targeting to break the current title defense record (Anderson Silva) against Ray Borg, but the promotions has other plans.
According to a public statement released by Johnson, the UFC is trying to book a fight with T.J. Dillashaw, but that isn’t sitting too well with the champ. However, a lucrative deal with pay-per-view points could be of interest.
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier also hit the stage this week to address the matter. And he believes they should pay Johnson 1 million to fight Dillashaw.
On FS1’s UFC Tonight Cormier said,
UFC, if you want Demetrious Johnson to fight T.J. Dillashaw, give him the money. Pay him a million dollars and say ‘that’s your fight.’ I know it’s a lot for a 125-pounder, but the guy’s the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Pay him the money, and then let him go fight. … Pay him as the No. 1 fighter in the world for once.
In addition, Cormier also believes the UFC needs to be more creative when they promote Johnson in the future, if they want more fans to tune in.
I think the responsibility for everything can be shared between Demetrious and the UFC. The UFC really doesn’t understand how to market him, because they have to get creative. He’s smaller. He’s not the biggest guy. He’s dominant. Even when Anderson Silva was the guy running through his division, his points weren’t very high, so they have to get creative. I don’t know if they’ve gotten creative. But I do believe DJ has done his part.
Do you also think Johnson deserves a 1 million pay day to fight Dillashaw? Let us know in the comment section below. Lastly, stay tuned to Yell! Magazine for much more daily news in MMA.
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