- Demetrious Johnson rejected Alexandre Pantoja’s challenge following UFC 310
- “The Cannibal” insists his callout was never about the money
- UFC president Dana White got brutally honest about it
Demetrious Johnson ultimately turned down a super fight with Alexander Pantoja and the UFC boss shared his honest thoughts about it.
DJ is done
Speaking on his YouTube channel, “Mighty Mouse” gave a detailed response to Pantoja’s callout following his UFC 310 victory over Kai Asakura. According to Johnson, it’s too late for that now as he had already decided that he is done with fighting about a year ago, declaring that a possible UFC return is never gonna happen.
“My black a** ain’t coming back… I’ve been offered $2m to come and do one fight, one fight, and I said no. I said absolutely no. It wasn’t with the UFC, it wasn’t against Alex Pantoja, I am not gonna tell you who it was with… there comes a point in time in an athlete’s career where you sit back and you like why am I fighting? Is it to be the best in the world? I was the best in the world for six years not just in America but also in Japan and I went up a division, I went 135 instead of 125 and then you sit back when I made that decision, I don’t care to fight anymore,” the former longtime UFC flyweight champ said.
“I gave myself a full-blown year to see if I’m going to miss it, if it’s my identity and I didn’t miss it. And what I thought was more badass than being the best fighter in the world, I think it’s more badass to build an empire where if you’re an athlete and you are winning and you rely on the money that you’re making from winning, once you lose that fight, half your pay is gone once any champion loses the fight, half their pay is gone. It’s just gone like that,” he explained.
“Actually, my New Year’s resolution in 2023 for 2024 was I’m not going to fight ever again… Any fights that come on the table, I’m saying no. Any grappling tournaments I get opportunity to grapple and make good money to do… I’m saying no… I said I’m not going to compete anymore for money so when Alex Pantoja called me out, I was like every’s blowing me up what do you think dog what do you think? I was like, guys I’m retired. I have no interest to fight anymore… I’m not the best flyweight in the world anymore, my black ass is retired and I’m happily retired. I ain’t gonna be no Jose Aldo, I ain’t gonna be no Donald Cerrone coming back to fight, there’s no point coming back to fight,” he added.
Alex insists it’s not about the money
Pantoja, meanwhile, was immediately told about Johnson rejecting his callout with an emphasis on the $2 million fight offer he had already turned down. For the reigning flyweight champ, “Mighty Mouse” should not look at the money as his challenge is to determine who the best fighter in the world is in their division.
“The guy said something about money… Yeah, that’s crazy because it’s not about money,” Pantoja insisted. “I don’t fight more for the money, I fight to prove to myself that I’m the best of the best… Of course you need to pay your bills, you need to pay your mortgage and everything. But we’re here to figure out who’s the best of the best. That’s what I did tonight… Demetrious Johnson, it’s not about money, brother.”
Alexandre Pantoja reacts to Demetrious Johnson rejecting his #UFC310 callout.
“It’s not about money, brother. It’s about seeing who is the best of the best.” pic.twitter.com/7zcA975cAx
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 8, 2024
Dana isn’t sure
UFC president Dana White was also informed about Pantoja’s plan to take on Johnson. As expected, the UFC boss couldn’t come up with a definitive answer.
“I don’t know. That’s interesting. Listen, I was the one beating the drum about Demetrious Johnson a long time ago, so yeah, I don’t know,” White said.
Dana White on Alexandre Pantoja vs Demetrious Johnson:
“I don’t know. That’s interesting.” 👀
🎥 @ufc #UFC #MMA #UFC310pic.twitter.com/i6gZprvtDh
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) December 8, 2024
As it stands, Pantoja has now defended his flyweight title three times in a row. However, this was the first time he won via finish. He is now on a seven-fight winning streak. As for Johnson, he has been retired since September last year.
Watch Johnson’s full video below:
