On tonight’s edition of “UFC Tonight” on FS1, Kenny Florian and Daniel Cormier – both of whom are affiliated with UFC officially – gave their points of view on Demetrious Johnson’s contention that UFC treated him poorly and unfairly.
•Florian on Demetrious Johnson’s complaints with the UFC: “I don’t know the whole situation. I think some of his complaints are valid. You can do a lot more to market yourself, to take fights and be that guy who fights whoever. As a champ, that’s part of his responsibility. He’s been around a long time and I’d like to see him take the biggest fight possible. In the sport of boxing it’s taken a while for the smaller guys to get the recognition. It was the heavier weights that everyone watched. For Demetrious, there are a lot of things he could do to promote himself between the fights. And the UFC could do more as well. Both are at fault.”
•Cormier on Johnson’s marketability: “I feel like he’s the guy who takes the fights when they call. He’s the most active champion in the UFC. There’s more than just being good to getting PPV and everything else. I think the responsibility can be shared between Demetrious and the UFC. The UFC doesn’t really know how to market him and they have to get creative. He’s small. He’s dominant. Even when Anderson Silva was running through the division, his points weren’t that high. I believe DJ has done his part, so he has some valid points. As African-Americans, you have to market differently. The UFC doesn’t know how to do it with him yet. It hasn’t connected yet.”
•Florian on if fans would want to see Johnson vs. T.J. Dillashaw: “People want to see super fights and this is a super fight. People want to see fights that they’re not sure what will happen. With the rest of the division and what he’s done, and the level of competition, he’s going to walk through the division. But with T.J. Dillashaw, we don’t know if he will.”
•Cormier believes Johnson should fight Dillashaw: “I think he should take it. It’s the biggest fight he could have. And it’s monumental because he’s trying to break the record. To do that over a former champion from the division higher, it’ll mean even more for him.”
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE DISCUSSION HERE.
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/video/962385987604
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