Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson is regarded by some as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in MMA despite never having to overcome the type of competition faced by the likes of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva.
Considering this, the news that the superfight between Johnson and UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has fallen through is especially disappointing, and ultimately it hurts Johnson’s legacy as an MMA great.
After reclaiming the bantamweight title from Cody Garbrandt in November last year, TJ Dillashaw excited MMA fans by calling out Johnson, saying he would go down to 125 pounds to fight the flyweight champion for the title. This bout promised to be an outrageously entertaining contest, pitting the ridiculously skilled DJ (Johnson) against the bigger, ferocious, and almost equally skilled TJ.
For MMA aficionados, DJ versus TJ was one of the great fights hyped for 2018 alongside the likes of Tony Ferguson versus Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier versus Stipe Miocic and Jon Jones versus Brock Lesnar. However, after much speculation and more than a little hope, the fight has fallen through. How and why is unclear.
Ostensibly the fight was quashed on 22 March by UFC president Dana White. Talking to the LA Times Dana claimed that the fight was never booked, offhandedly citing a minor surgery on DJ’s shoulder as a reason despite the fact Mighty Mouse is due back in July.
The fighters themselves offer little more clarity.
Johnson was vocal about the fight while speaking to Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour only a week before Dana officially cancelling it. DJ claimed that he wanted the fight but also noted that talks had gone stagnant. He cited certain concerns about money but also showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the fight – or perhaps it was exasperation – during the interview.
Most interestingly he said, “He [Dillashaw] wants to be the champ champ [two division champion]. I don’t care about being the champ champ. I want to be the only consecutive 12-time defending champion in any mixed martial arts promotion.
“The champ champ is old news nowadays. But you know what is brand-new news? 11-time defending champion.”
While this statement does not preclude a bout with TJ, it does show a certain lack of concern for, or perhaps ignorance of, the implications that a bout with Dillashaw would have on Johnson’s overall legacy.
Dillashaw, meanwhile, speaking to MMA Hour on 11 April, seemed despondent about the lack of clarity behind the fight’s cancelation. He claimed that both parties had tentatively agreed to the fight and that the UFC was on board, but it had fallen through for reasons unknown.
However, the implications from him were clear: blame should to fall upon DJ’s camp. TJ even cited reports from the UFC that Mighty Mouse was “scared” to face him.
Fear as a factor is certainly debatable, but what TJ’s revelations do seem to suggest is a palpable reluctance on the part of DJ to accept the TJ fight. It would not be the first time.
In the past, Johnson has voiced concerns about the UFC attempting to bully him into fights, specifically against TJ Dillashaw.
A key reason for DJ not wanting the fight – and the only reason applicable now – was a concern for TJ’s ability to come down to 125 pounds, claiming that “TJ has never fought at flyweight and is unlikely to make the weight”. There are even suggestions that he wanted TJ to prove he could make weight by facing another opponent at flyweight before the champion. If this is the case, DJ is living in a dream world – superfights do not have stage rehearsals.
(AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
Regardless of these concerns, most of the noise around the fight’s cancellation concerns DJ’s money requirements. This too is not without precedent. In 2016 Johnson reportedly wanted a $2 million payday to fight then bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz. Dana White was less than impressed with the suggestion, and it seems that Mighty Mouse may again have priced himself out of the market.
When it comes to superfights, DJ seems to be under some sort of Tyron Woodly-esque delusion about his worth in the UFC. Despite his outstanding record, he is unfortunately not a draw even on par with TJ Dillashaw, let alone the Conor McGregors and GSPs of the world.
Frankly, if either of these reasons – money or TJ making weight – are DJ’s excuse for dismissing the fight, then he is either incredibly unrealistic or avoiding the fight for other reasons. Considering the evidence, we really have to consider the possibility that DJ does not want to risk his legacy on a fight with such a dangerous opponent as Dillashaw.
Nevertheless, with the fight falling through, fans are left with two rematches in the near future: Johnson versus Henry Cejudo and Dillashaw versus Cody Garbrandt. Neither fight will be as big as DJ versus TJ, but the irony is that not only will Johnson be making much less than he would when facing Dillashaw, but his fight with Cejudo is bound to be much less popular and almost certainly not a main event.
As far as legacies go, Mighty Mouse is also the one missing out. For TJ, a title defence against the incredibly dangerous Garbrandt will solidify him as one of the greatest bantamweights of all time and propel him to other possible superfights in the future.
A win for DJ, however, will only solidify his position as the greatest fighter in the men’s smallest and weakest division.
If DJ is content to just be the king of the flyweight division, he is doing fine. But if he wishes to be considered in the same breath as the greatest fighters to step into the cage, he must accept competition coming down to face him. Until he does, his legacy will be little more than a big fish in a small pond.
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