Demetrious Johnson passionately settles Ben Askren-UFC vs. 'Mighty Mouse'-ONE Championship trade debate
Demetrious Johnson recently retired from mixed martial arts, ending one of the greatest careers the sport has ever seen. He was famously involved in the first major trade in MMA history when the UFC shockingly traded him to ONE Championship for Ben Askren in 2018. 'Mighty Mouse' recently weighed in on the trade, declaring which side he believes won the deal.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on his self-titled show, the long-time UFC flyweight champion and ONE flyweight champion stated:
"When you look at just money wise, I think the UFC won because of how much more money they were able to generate and quote, unquote from Dana White and those guys, I wasn't making them any money, but I think the sheer of just the f**king horse that ONE Championship got, I mean, if I wanted to today, I could still fight. I don't think Ben Askren can still fight. I could still fight if I truly wanted to. He can't."
Johnson continued:
"You look at the fights I was able to produce, the knockouts, the buzz that I was able to produce for ONE Championship, I mean, it's an easy clear that they got the better athlete, the better fighter, but when it comes down to the money aspect of it, they probably won, but it's what are you looking for? Are you looking to generate more money or are you looking to have the best athletes in the world? You want to have the best athletes in the world, they got my black a**."
Check out Demetrious Johnson's comments on being traded for Ben Askren below:
Johnson went on to win the ONE flyweight World Grand Prix, defeat Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a special rules match, win the ONE flyweight title and become the inaugural inductee of the ONE Hall of Fame.
While Askren was just 1-2 in three fights in the UFC, his loss to Jorge Masvidal elevated his opponent to stardom, which was very profitable for the promotion.
Dana White reveals Demetrious Johnson will be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame
While Demetrious Johnson was shockingly traded from the UFC in 2018, Dana White revealed that he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Speaking to John Morgan of Grind City Media following 'Mighty Mouse's retirement from mixed martial arts, the UFC CEO stated:
"Yeah, I didn't know that and yeah, listen, if you could go back to when he was here, I was defending him from the fans. Who's defended Demetrious Johnson more than me? Yeah, no, good for him. You know, incredible career he had and yeah, I've never had a problem with Demetrious Johnson."
He was then asked if Johnson would be a UFC Hall of Famer, responding:
"Absolutely"
Check out Dana White's comments on Demetrious Johnson below:
Johnson holds nearly every record in the UFC's flyweight division. He also holds the promotional record for most consecutive title defenses in UFC history and is tied with Jon Jones for the most title defenses.
Despite his unceremonious departure from the UFC, 'Mighty Mouse' will rightfully take his place in the Hall of Fame.