MMA legend Demetrious Johnson makes his feelings about Dana White known on Ariel Helwani's new show
MMA icon Demetrious Johnson recently shared his thoughts on Dana White during a conversation with Ariel Helwani on his new show. The former UFC flyweight champion thanked White for giving him a platform to showcase his fighting skills and detailed one regret he had about his dealings with the MMA promoter.
It's no secret that White and Johnson haven't always seen eye-to-eye. While they never publicly slammed each other, they have traded verbal shots on social media and in interviews. Johnson once notably voiced his frustration with White for not giving him pay-per-view points despite being the UFC flyweight champion.
In response, White claimed Johnson never wanted pay-per-view points in his contract and dismissed the MMA icon's statements. While the two were at loggerheads for a while, their feud never erupted in an all-out war of words.
During a recent interview with Helwani, 'Mighty Mouse' addressed his relationship with White. While he thanked the UFC CEO for the opportunity to fight in the promotion, he outlined his one regret and said:
"Here's the thing, I have nothing against Dana White. My career was absolutely amazing. He gave me an opportunity to fight in one of the biggest organizations in North America. I made my name there, and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope the company keeps doing well... But, he did sh*t on me a couple of times."
Johnson continued:
"He's sh*t on everybody... The only thing I do regret, I wish that I could've recorded every single conversation I had with him... That's the only thing I regret... We have receipts."
Watch the full video below:
When Demetrious Johnson slammed Dana White for denying him pay-per-view points
Demetrious Johnson is widely considered among the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and is known as one of the most dominant fighters ever to grace the cage. As mentioned, Johnson once reigned as the UFC flyweight champion. However, he wasn't given pay-per-view points in his contract like champions of other weight classes were.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel earlier this year, Johnson shared his dismay at not being paid like the other divisional champions and recalled his conversations with White. He said:
"They specifically said, ‘We do not give pay-per-view points to flyweight guys... I went through my whole contract as a champion, I got to renegotiate, I wanted pay-per-view points, they said, ‘We don’t give it to you guys, and that’s where I went 125 and 50... If you’re a lightweight or a welterweight, middleweight, or heavyweight, I’ve been told (by champions at the time) that once they became champion, they got $500,000 flat, and it went straight into their contract... For me, it was never that." [H/t: MMA Fighting]
Watch the full video below: