Demetrious Johnson is speaking out about his claimed mistreatment in the UFC. In a statement issued to MMA Fighting he talked about how the UFC has not pushed him and being told that “smaller fighters” do not sell.
According to the statement, Johnson stated that he was given an ultimatum that he fight T.J. Dillashaw or the UFC would close down the 125 pound division.
He outlined the issues he had with the UFC:
In summary:
I agreed to their tyrannical demand to fight Ray Borg and Ray also agreed.
UFC has refused to give me PPV points on any future flyweight bouts, and has never given me any PPV points on previous bouts. My request was fair and the matchmaker in charge of the flyweight and bantamweight division agreed.
I gave UFC fair conditions to change the fight to TJ Dillashaw and they refused.
Dana and Sean have told me that they have no interest in marketing me or the smaller divisions, so when they say that I will make PPV money vs. Dillashaw, they leave out the fact that I have to hit certain numbers of buys, which will not be hit if they fail in marketing me like they have in my previous fights.
If TJ doesn’t make weight, I can’t break the record for the most consecutive title defenses and they have denied paying me in that circumstance.
Dana has made an effort to bully me in the media as well as in private, in order to get what he wants, even though it is not what is best for me or the sport.
If Dana says this will be a big PPV fight for me, and that they will promote it properly, then he can pay for it up front and explain to Ray Borg why he is being taken out of the fight that the UFC matchmaker in charge of the division put him in. Otherwise, it is just another lie and attempt to bully me to do something that Dana wants, but is not the right thing to do for the sport or my career.
UFC’s track record in making an effort to promote my fights, and Dana’s claim that this is a big chance for PPV dollars for me tells a different story than what Dana is stating to the public.
Will the squeaky mouse get the cheese?
Payout Perspective:
We will have more after his interview today on The MMA Hour. But Johnson has a legitimate gripe and is speaking out. He’s been a good “company man” and didn’t make a big issue with losing XBox as a sponsor due to the Reebok deal only to see the UFC partner with the company. From the UFC’s perspective, they are making business decisions based on the results (i.e., ratings/buy rates) they have received. You can argue that Johnson has not been marketed by the UFC. He is one of the best pound for pound fighters ever. Yet, there’s little to know buzz about him as he does not sell fights like a Conor McGregor. If XBox felt that DJ was worthy of an exclusive sponsorship, why didn’t the UFC push him or continue to find ways to connect him with UFC fans? It seems that at one point, they decided to shift focus on which fighters to push and moved on from DJ. There is the argument that the “smaller fighters” do not sell. I do applaud Sean Shelby (if true) for telling DJ the truth. But, he had to have known that this would come out to the public.
Below is a summary of DJ’s career in the UFC with applicable pay (only the official purses reported are below), bonuses and Reebok pay as well as ratings and buy rates. It’s clear that he received a bump in pay as a champion but is not commanding the dollars up front. If he’s not receiving PPV points (and he wouldn’t make that much anyways), it does appear he is underpaid for his accomplishments.
UFC 126 (appeared on Facebook prelim)
$5,000 to show/$5,000 to win
UFC 130 (Spike TV prelim card)
$6,000 to show/$6,000 to win
Ratings: 325,000 PPV buys (Rampage-Hamill main event)
UFC on Versus 6: vs. Dominick Cruz
Ratings: 729,000 viewers on Versus TV
UFC on FX 2 vs. Ian MacCall
$50,000 Fight of the Night Bonus
Ratings: 1.4 million viewers on FX
UFC on FX 3: Rematch with McCall
$40,000 to show/$40,000 to win
Ratings 1.1 million viewers on Fox
UFC 152 vs. Joseph Benavidez
Ratings: 452,000 PPV buys (Jones-Belfort main)
$50,000 Fight of the Night Bonus
Ratings: 4.4 million viewers Live + SD
UFC on Fox 8 (Seattle): vs. John Moraga
$29,000 to show/$29,000 to win plus $50,000 submission of the night bonus
Ratings: 2.38 million viewers Live +SD
UFC on Fox 9 vs. Joseph Benavidez II
$125,000 to show/$50,000 to win plus $50,000 KO of the night bonus
Ratings: 2.8 million viewers Live + SD
UFC 174 vs. Ali Bagautinov
PPV buy rate: 115,000
UFC 178 vs. Cris Cariaso
$131,000 to show/54,000 win bonus
PPV buy rate: 205,000
UFC 186 vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
$50,000 Performance of the Night
PPV buy rate: 125,000
UFC 191 vs. John Dodson II
$133,000 to show/$58,000 win bonus
Reebok pay: $40,000
PPV buy rate: 115,000
*Xbox sponsors the UFC, but not DJ for the first time in years during his time in the UFC.
UFC 197 vs. Henry Cejudo
$135,000 to show/$60,000 win bonus
Reebok pay: $40,000
Performance of the Night $50,000
PPV buy rate 322,000 (Jon Jones-OSP on top)
TUF Tournament of Americas Final vs. Tim Elliott
$350,000 flat
Reebok pay: $40,000
UFC on Fox 24 vs. Wilson Reis
$50,000 Performance of the Night
Reebok pay: $40,000
Ratings: 1.74M viewers (lowest Fox rating ever)
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