"You don't know where half these kids come from" - Dana White explains decision to give Jose Johnson UFC contract based on his interview
![Dana White (L) revealed that Jose Johnson's interview earned him a UFC contract [Credits: UFC.com/Photo by Chris Unger/DWCS LLC/Zuffa LLC,Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/08/0ac64-16607139298525-1920.jpg?w=500)
UFC president Dana White has revealed why he chose to give Jose Johnson a contract in the organization.
During the Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) post-fight press-conference, the 53-year-old discussed Johnson's unanimous decision win over Jack Cartwright and the thought process behind awarding 'No Way' a contract.
"His interview got him the contract tonight, that's it. The fight was weird. He beat a 10-0 kid, came here the second time, laid out. It's easy to sit up here and f****** yap about this and that. You don't know where half these kids come from or what they go through or what it took for there to be here tonight. Well, he laid it out. He got me. I said I'm going to give him the opportunity, the rest is upto him."
After his win over Cartwright, Johnson revealed that he went through a divorce while battling for custody over his child. In the process, he was close to walking away from the sport.
While White is known for being a shrewd businessman, it seems like the UFC president was listening in on Johnson's post-fight interview and was convinced that he should offer the the talented 27-year-old a contract to compete in the UFC.
White even hilariously admitted that he's probably "going soft" in his old age.
Johnson's latest victory comes after two highly impressive performances under the Fury FC banner against the formerly undefeated Mo Miller and TUF 27 member “Karate” Dulani “The Fight God” Perry.
Watch Dana White talk about Jose Johnson below:
Jose Johnson reveals huge changes he made prior to earning UFC contract
Johnson has appeared on DWCS before, where he lost the bout against Ronnie Lawrence, who received a UFC contract after a win at the same event. However, in a recent interview, 'No Way' revealed to UFC.com that a lot of things have changed since then. He said:
“It’s like I was in a dark spot and I took fights that I shouldn’t have because my pride is everything. I don’t think I should have been fighting, to be honest. I can’t keep losing these extremely important fights. These losses that are in front of the boss are detrimental to my career. My divorce was a big change. Changing my training to a different gym now, changing my diet, changing a bunch of things has helped me.”
After his win over Cartwright, Johnson finally redeemed himself and will now aim to make his way up the bantamweight division in the UFC. 'No Way' has worked his way back to the UFC in the last few years and will be hoping to make a mark inside the octagon during his career.
The Fury FC veteran is entering his prime and will look to continue his winning run with a mindset of beating some of the best fighters in one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC.
Watch Jose Johnson's post-fight interview below: