While he is not beating men to a pulp and racking up medals in fighting tournaments, Demetrious Johnson is an avid gamer. In fact, the fighter has even allowed his likeness to be used by the UFC gaming franchise. One would assume he got paid well for it. And one would assume wrong.
As revealed by the fighter himself, DJ has made a modest amount of $72,500 from his presence in the UFC game roster, namely from UFC 2. While the 37-year-old is grateful for the sum, fans couldn’t let it go when they heard that Johnson earned only $10,000 for being on the game cover!
Reflecting on this, fans bombarded ‘Mighty Mouse’s’ post and trashed UFC and Dana White for their rapacity. Livid, one of the fans tweeted,
“Dana white is such a cheap guy. Oscar de la Hoya was 100% right.”
https://twitter.com/sakk7272/status/1788627511229726896
Johnson on his popular YouTube channel told fans that he got cheques adding up to $72,500 from the UFC for being in UFC games. Divulging his honest thoughts on the same, an online fan wrote the irony of the situation. He not only compared UFC to FIFA and then spoke about EA’s lazy gameplay and unnecessary expensive updates.
“On one hand, it seems unfair, but on the other, it would be odd if professional football players received a share from the FIFA game series. Nevertheless, I believe that EA’s sports divisions are the worst—not as an athlete, but as a gamer. They just milk money and make no effort to improve the gameplay, year after year.”
On one hand, it seems unfair, but on the other, it would be odd if professional football players received a share from the FIFA game series. Nevertheless, I believe that EA's sports divisions are the worst—not as an athlete, but as a gamer. They just milk money and make no effort…
— mokhmad (@raregur) May 9, 2024
Was he correct in his assessment? You have played FIFA 22 and FIFA 23. Tell us the difference between the two games and if the price for the latter justifies buying the update.
While another fan took the opportunity to mention how former heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou had to slip UFC’s clutches to make money –
“And Dana gets away with it smh glad Francis played his cards right and got the bag.”
https://twitter.com/irepjuan/status/1788680449167896634
On the other hand, another fan couldn’t ignore the basic fact that this is how a world-class athlete like DJ was being treated.
“Greatest MMA fighter ever and this is how he’s treated? Sheesh.”
Greatest MMA fighter ever and this is how he’s treated? Sheesh ☹️
— barlitz 🌪️ (@infinitecarlos) May 9, 2024
Boiling over with anger, fans called out the organization and bashed it brutally without any remorse to the point of calling UFC a “scandal.”
“Sucks at negotiating.”
Sucks at negotiating
— MMA OPINIONS (@MMAOPPS) May 9, 2024
Meanwhile, Johnson has also revealed that he got a handsome sum of $25,000 for being in the game. Next, he received a cheque of $12,500 and after that following his fight with Ray Borg, he was handed a measly $10,000 for being on the cover of the game. While it seems like a rip-off for most fans, for DJ it was free money. He said, “I wasn’t too worried about it because again, it was free money coming to me.”
While the fighter sheathed his criticism on this one, he did not mince his words when he criticized the UFC on UFC 301.
Demetrious Johnson slams UFC after UFC 301 – “Didn’t even hold a f**king press conference…”
UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro was a hit in Brazil with fans dropping in to see their favorite fighters claim glorious victories. And boy, the Brazilian fighters did not disappoint. The card headlined by Alexandre Pantoja vs Steve Erceg packed a punch with hometown talents dishing out amazing performances.
However, DJ wasn’t that impressed. Divulging his thoughts, he essentially said that the UFC did not do a good job promoting the main event. DJ mentioned the fact that the organization did not even have a pre-fight press conference –
“Going into this fight, one, I want to start off saying that UFC didn’t even hold a f*cking press conference. Typically they always hold a press conference for pay-per-view events. This one, they didn’t. So, me and my producer were very shocked by that. Just not a whole lot of buzz surrounding this fight card.”
He then mentioned the ground reality of the situation, saying that if the main event failed to get in the crowds what are fighters supposed to make from the PPV? While Johnson’s critique seems like he has witnessed his own experience repeating itself, the fighter here certainly has a point.
