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Being the UFC flyweight champion may not be all it's cracked up to be according to Demetrious Johnson. He recently got brutally honest as he gave advice to Brandon Moreno on his future after losing the title.
Brandon Moreno was hoping for a fourth fight against the champion so he could get his title back. Demetrious Johnson suggests he stop chasing the UFC flyweight title and get his ‘mojo back.'
“Why do a fourth fight? Why?” Johnson said on The MMA Hour. “Fight Pantoja. Let Pantoja fight. Let Kai Kara-France fight. Fight somebody totally different. Go out there, get your mojo back if you feel like you need it. Get a fresh look in front of you.”
“Everybody’s always trying to chase this title. Don’t chase the title, the title will come if you’re worthy of it, if your path leads you to that. Don’t just try to run down a road and run in the same fucking roadblock.
“Fight somebody else, then maybe, you’ll find something else in the other fighters you go against. And then when you approach that roadblock again, you’re like, ‘Ah, I know how to do this this time. It’s not the same thing I’ve been looking at for the past two to three years.’ Do something different.”
Financially it doesn't make a difference if you take a UFC title fight or not according to Demetrious Johnson. That was a big problem back when he was the flyweight champion.
“Yes, it makes a lot of money sense for the UFC, and maybe for the athletes, too,” Johnson said. “I know how the UFC contracts are structured, so whether Brandon Moreno fights Figueiredo or Kai Kara-France, I’m sure he’s probably gonna get the same pay.
“Them boys ain’t gonna get pay-per-view points. They never gave flyweights pay-per-view points. Don’t act like y’all getting 800,000 pay-per-view buys.
“You’re better off fighting Kai Kara-France or Pantoja,” he continued. “And then if you get that, boom. You get your show and your win, so you probably make $250K. Then, you might be in the escalator, so you fight another one.
“That’s another $250K, so you just made $500K. And now, you fight for a world title, then you get your $30K Reebok sponsorship.”
Demetrious Johnson ended things with one final piece of advice for the UFC flyweights. It all has to do with knowing your worth.
“At the end, you’ll be like, ‘Hey, I got two fights in my contract. You know what? I don’t want to re-sign. I want to fight this one. I believe in myself.’ You go out there and fight, and let’s say you win the belt, next thing you know you’re in a great position.”
