Dana White on Demetrious Johnson: “He never really got the love and respect he deserved from fans”
It’s no secret Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is undoubtedly one of the best MMA fighters in the world, and the UFC losing him to ONE Championship will indeed leave gigantic hole in their flyweight division going forward.
Looking at the circumstances in which he left the UFC under, it makes you wonder, did Demetrious Johnson really get the credit he deserved while with the company?
I mean after all, Johnson was one of the best pound for pound fighters the UFC had as evidenced by his long seven year title reign, not to mention shattering records for most title defenses, and basically wiping his whole division completely out.
In seeing that, you’d think that would be someone the UFC would have promoted better, as well as someone the fans would have wanted to cheer for.
Unfortunately, that was not case.
Surprisingly, UFC president Dana White feels the exact same way.
On yesterday evening, in a interview with TMZ Sports, White had a chance to express his thoughts on Demetrious Johnson’s conflicted legacy in the UFC, and him struggling to connect with the UFC fans.
White said in his opinion, he thinks Johnson never really got the love and respect he was truly due during his time in the organization.
“If you look at it, the kid broke the record for most title defenses. I feel like he never really got the love and respect he deserved from the fans,” Dana White said (transcript via Sherdog). “I don’t know if he was always thrilled being here, so hopefully he’s a lot happier where he’s headed now. His longtime trainer and coach [Matt Hume] is an executive over there, so maybe he’ll be happier over there.”
Do you agree with Dana White’s assessment on Johnson in the UFC?
