Demetrious Johnson: The Pay-Per-View Pariah
Demetrious Johnson: The Pay-Per-View Pariah
Why don't people tune in to watch UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson?
By Roy Billington
One of the most appealing facets of mixed martial arts the sport's constant evolution.
Throughout the early-to-mid 2000’s, the ranks of MMA fighters veered towards the unexpressive realist fighting style of wrestle-boxing. The sport temporarily stagnated, particularly in the lighter weight classes.
But then Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson burst onto the scene.
Johnson is not the image that would enter your imagination when you think of cage fighting. Standing at 5’3”, Mighty Mouse is hardly an assuming character. But his physical traits don’t accurately represent his ability to punish people.
Johnson didn’t get a fair start to life. His fighting spirit was tested throughout his childhood. The future UFC champion was born 2 months premature, and had to deal with an abusive stepfather growing up. To make matters even more difficult, he was raised primarily by his mother, who is completely deaf. These roadblocks did not hinder Johnson, however. He excelled in multiple sports in high school before settling on wrestling, a sport he showed great aptitude for.
After taking second place in the Washington State Wrestling Championships in high school, Johnson began his mixed martial arts career. Under the tutelage of “The Wizard” Matt Hume, Johnson developed at a rapid rate. He racked up 10 victories in a row, finishing all but one of his fights.
It was after Johnson’s 10th win that he got the call to compete for what was then the preeminent MMA organization for lighter-weight fighters: World Extreme Cagefighting. His first big show outing was a disappointment, as tough British star Brad Pickett managed to nullify Johnson’s offense. It was the first of only two blemishes on his otherwise perfect record.
Following his loss to Pickett, Johnson rebounded with spectacular performances over Kid Yamamoto, Nick Pace and Damacio Page. When the UFC merged the WEC and its lighter weight classes into their promotion, Mighty Mouse was granted a contendership fight against former WEC champion Miguel Torres.
Over the course of 3 rounds, Johnson looked solid and stifled the former champion in every area. The victory over Torres was enough to earn him a title shot against Dominick Cruz. Cruz, 5 inches taller than Johnson, managed to out-strike the shorter fighter and used his size advantage to take him down. After the 5 rounds were over, the judges scored the fight in Cruz's favor.
Following his loss to Cruz, Johnson decided to fully dedicate his life to fighting. Up to that point, Johnson had worked 40-hour weeks, and only allocated 10 hours a week to fight training. In hindsight, it is truly shocking that Johnson got as close to the top of the bantamweight division as he did, especially considering his size and lack of training hours.
After quitting his day job, Johnson also dropped down to the new UFC flyweight division. It was the beginning of a great run that would see Johnson capture the new flyweight championship and hold it to this day.
Since taking home the title, Johnson has been dominant. He has defended his title seven times, and has finished four of his opponents. But despite his skills, Johnson has never been able to garner the kind of stardom afforded larger champions.
Over the last few years, Johnson has appeared on the main event of FOX shows, but still fails to generate any fanfare. The pay per view events he has headlined pull in shockingly low buy rates.
Some critics have used the “people don’t want to watch small guys” excuse, but the data has never supported this hypothesis. The rise of featherweight Conor McGregor proves that people will tune in to watch lighter weight classes when given a reason to do so.
The cause of Johnson’s disappointing numbers is complex. Johnson has cleaned out his division and looked dominant doing so. He hasn’t faced a fighter who is considered to have a good chance against him since his rematch with Benavidez.. People aren’t tuning into to watch him fight because they believe that his fights are foregone conclusions.
And Johnson’s personality is hardly endearing to what fight fans usually gravitate towards. Fighters like Chael Sonnen, Tito Ortiz, Ronda Rousey and McGregor have made careers out of being edgy and controversial. Johnson is more in his element live-streaming video games on Twitch than insulting people at press conferences. Johnson has always let his skills in the cage do the talking. And while this may be financially limiting, it is also honorable.
When Johnson next steps into the cage against Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo at UFC 197, there will be a lot of new eyes tuning in. His bout is the co-main event to the return of Jon Jones, who takes on Ovince St. Preux for the UFC's interim light heavyweight championship.
Perhaps a good showing in front of those fans will finally push Johnson towards the kind of stardom he so richly deserves.
One of the most appealing facets of mixed martial arts the sport's constant evolution.
Throughout the early-to-mid 2000’s, the ranks of MMA fighters veered towards the unexpressive realist fighting style of wrestle-boxing. The sport temporarily stagnated, particularly in the lighter weight classes.
But then Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson burst onto the scene.
Johnson is not the image that would enter your imagination when you think of cage fighting. Standing at 5’3”, Mighty Mouse is hardly an assuming character. But his physical traits don’t accurately represent his ability to punish people.
Johnson didn’t get a fair start to life. His fighting spirit was tested throughout his childhood. The future UFC champion was born 2 months premature, and had to deal with an abusive stepfather growing up. To make matters even more difficult, he was raised primarily by his mother, who is completely deaf. These roadblocks did not hinder Johnson, however. He excelled in multiple sports in high school before settling on wrestling, a sport he showed great aptitude for.
After taking second place in the Washington State Wrestling Championships in high school, Johnson began his mixed martial arts career. Under the tutelage of “The Wizard” Matt Hume, Johnson developed at a rapid rate. He racked up 10 victories in a row, finishing all but one of his fights.
It was after Johnson’s 10th win that he got the call to compete for what was then the preeminent MMA organization for lighter-weight fighters: World Extreme Cagefighting. His first big show outing was a disappointment, as tough British star Brad Pickett managed to nullify Johnson’s offense. It was the first of only two blemishes on his otherwise perfect record.
Following his loss to Pickett, Johnson rebounded with spectacular performances over Kid Yamamoto, Nick Pace and Damacio Page. When the UFC merged the WEC and its lighter weight classes into their promotion, Mighty Mouse was granted a contendership fight against former WEC champion Miguel Torres.
Over the course of 3 rounds, Johnson looked solid and stifled the former champion in every area. The victory over Torres was enough to earn him a title shot against Dominick Cruz. Cruz, 5 inches taller than Johnson, managed to out-strike the shorter fighter and used his size advantage to take him down. After the 5 rounds were over, the judges scored the fight in Cruz's favor.
Following his loss to Cruz, Johnson decided to fully dedicate his life to fighting. Up to that point, Johnson had worked 40-hour weeks, and only allocated 10 hours a week to fight training. In hindsight, it is truly shocking that Johnson got as close to the top of the bantamweight division as he did, especially considering his size and lack of training hours.
After quitting his day job, Johnson also dropped down to the new UFC flyweight division. It was the beginning of a great run that would see Johnson capture the new flyweight championship and hold it to this day.
Since taking home the title, Johnson has been dominant. He has defended his title seven times, and has finished four of his opponents. But despite his skills, Johnson has never been able to garner the kind of stardom afforded larger champions.
Over the last few years, Johnson has appeared on the main event of FOX shows, but still fails to generate any fanfare. The pay per view events he has headlined pull in shockingly low buy rates.
Some critics have used the “people don’t want to watch small guys” excuse, but the data has never supported this hypothesis. The rise of featherweight Conor McGregor proves that people will tune in to watch lighter weight classes when given a reason to do so.
The cause of Johnson’s disappointing numbers is complex. Johnson has cleaned out his division and looked dominant doing so. He hasn’t faced a fighter who is considered to have a good chance against him since his rematch with Benavidez.. People aren’t tuning into to watch him fight because they believe that his fights are foregone conclusions.
And Johnson’s personality is hardly endearing to what fight fans usually gravitate towards. Fighters like Chael Sonnen, Tito Ortiz, Ronda Rousey and McGregor have made careers out of being edgy and controversial. Johnson is more in his element live-streaming video games on Twitch than insulting people at press conferences. Johnson has always let his skills in the cage do the talking. And while this may be financially limiting, it is also honorable.
When Johnson next steps into the cage against Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo at UFC 197, there will be a lot of new eyes tuning in. His bout is the co-main event to the return of Jon Jones, who takes on Ovince St. Preux for the UFC's interim light heavyweight championship.
Perhaps a good showing in front of those fans will finally push Johnson towards the kind of stardom he so richly deserves.