Despite reigning as the UFC flyweight champion with an unmatched 11 title defenses from September 2012 to August 2018, Demetrious Johnson never received pay-per-view bonuses or incentives, a privilege typically granted to top fighters in the promotion.
As Johnson himself recalls on his YouTube channel, he refutes the UFC’s claim that he declined pay-per-view points in favour of a lump-sum payment:
Demetrious Johnson Calls UFC CEO Dana White Out for His Lies
“I fought and fought, they specifically said we don’t give PPV points to flyweight guys, but if you’re a lightweight,” Johnson said. “A welterweight, a middleweight, heavyweight — I have been told that once they become champion, they get $500,000 flat and it went straight into their contract that they got pay-per-view points every single time. For me, it was never that.
“If I would have gotten pay-per-view points for every single time I defended my belt… 11 title defences. You put me on three Conor McGregor cards…”When Dana White says I didn’t want pay-per-view points, that’s not true. I asked for pay-per-view points.”
Despite his remarkable achievements and undeniable talent, Johnson’s experience sheds light on the disparities within the UFC’s compensation structure for fighters across different weight classes. Fighter pay has been a huge topic as of late with many former fighters coming forward stating they were treated unfairly, not to mention the recent lawsuit the UFC just closed the door on.
What do you make of this from Demetrious Johnson? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images and Embed from Getty Images
