Demetrious Johnson had time to reflect on his career in the UFC and the trade that sent him to ONE Championship. In an interview with MMAFighting.com, “Mighty Mouse” cited the trade that sent him to ONE as the best thing that ever happened to him. Additionally, he noted how underpaid he was as the UFC Flyweight Champion.
Considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best MMA athlete of all time, Johnson stood atop both UFC and ONE’s flyweight divisions for years. In the UFC, Johnson defended the flyweight championship 11 times. However, the success in the Octagon did not relate to success in his bank account.
“That time frame from 2011 all the way to 2017, I had 17 fights. I think 12 of them were world championship fights and five of them weren’t. So I did all the math, I did all that stuff and I was like what the f*ck? That’s all I made? I was in bed last night just doing the math. I was like godd*mn, I’m f*cking gutted. I was just gutted,” Johnson recalled to MMAFighting.com.
In ONE, Johnson first competed in the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix. It was a tournament that he won. After being stopped for the first time in his career, he rebounded against Adriano Moraes to claim the ONE Flyweight MMA World Championship.
After success around the world, Johnson said the move to ONE was the best career decision he ever made. The mutual respect between ONE and “Mighty Mouse” continues, and the two parties still work together. There are no regrets from the Washington native.
“I love ONE Championship for it and I’m still involved with ONE Championship helping them build their brand and their fighters. I’m so glad. If I had a crystal ball and foresee the future, if it was like if I beat Henry [Cejudo], my Black ass would be stuck in the UFC, still fighting tooth and nail for more money or if I looked into it and be like I should lose and you’re going to go over to ONE Championship and make more money? We going to lose this f*cking fight. It’s OK, don’t worry about it,” Johnson said.
Johnson made sure to state that he appreciated the platform given to him by the UFC to help build his brand. However, his life was forever changed with the move to ONE. Thankfully, one of the sport’s greatest competitors was able to be appreciated in his own time, and it took a historic trade to set him on the path to being compensated as he so rightfully deserved.
