ONE Championship: Demetrious Johnson reveals his low UFC fighter pay that caused ‘chip on my shoulder’
- ‘Mighty Mouse’ says he didn’t get a champion’s contract with UFC until his fourth title defence – and was still denied PPV points
- ‘I’m going on my seventh or eighth title defence, you got CM Punk over here making 500 bones,’ Johnson recalls
Many MMA fans were surprised when Demetrious Johnson left the UFC for ONE Championship in late 2018 – but the legendary “Mighty Mouse” has revealed the low fighter pay that gave him a “chip on my shoulder”.
Johnson had just lost the UFC flyweight title to Henry Cejudo in a razor-close split decision, ending a record streak of 11 consecutive title defences.
But his frustration with the promotion had been building for a long time, rooted in what he saw as him being lowballed by the organisation.
“When I fought Dominick Cruz, I was under contract, I think I was fighting for 14/14 [US$14,000 to show, US$14,000 to win],” 36-year-old American Johnson, now ONE’s flyweight MMA champion, said during a recent stream on his Twitch channel, Mighty Gaming.
“So when I lost to Dominick I made US$14k, then I was about to fight Eddie Wineland. That didn’t go through, so I fought Ian McCall in Australia, and I was still on the same contract. Then I got a new contract when I fought Ian McCall the second time, I think I got up to 20/20.”
Johnson – who will face Adriano Moraes in a title trilogy bout at ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver on May 5, for ONE Championship’s on-ground US debut – beat McCall again in June 2012 to progress to the final of the UFC flyweight tournament, where he defeated Joseph Benavidez to became the inaugural UFC flyweight champion.
But he still only made US$40,000.
Instead of then getting a champion’s contract, Johnson said he only got a slight increase in pay.
“When I fought Joseph Benavidez I was still on that 20/20,” he said. “When I fought John Dodson, I made 23/23. When I fought John Moraga, it was 26/26. Then when I fought Joseph Benavidez again, I think it was 30/30.”
Johnson said he then finally got a champion’s contract, on US$125,000 to show and us$50,000 to win – but he was still denied pay-per-view points.
“That’s where champions make most bang for their buck, pay-per-view points,” he added. “Because if you get on card with Conor McGregor and he does 2.1 million buys, then you do the math. You’re gonna make a s*** load of money.
“I never got to do that, so when they tried to stiff arm me to fight TJ Dillashaw, I said yeah, pay me a f****** million dollars and I’ll do it. This a super fight, so let’s make some super money.
“They would never want to do that. That’s why I came out pushing back. When does a champ have leverage and get what’s due to him?
“I’m going on my seventh or eighth title defence, you got f****** CM Punk over here making 500 bones, and it’s his second fight in the UFC.
“That’s where that chip on my shoulder came from.”
