We Don’t Deserve Demetrious Johnson

Any honest reactions to UFC 216, or the events surrounding it, are going to be a little dicey, if only because of the events that preceded it the week before.

Seriously, you have no idea how badly I want to go off on the fact that Everlast is still a thing, but I won’t. His performance of “America the Beautiful” in the middle of the Octagon was a very touching moment to honor a group of people united by one of the most horrific events to take place in this country, a way to symbolize how well this nation can pull together in times of distress and make it through to the other side, or at least to the end of another Donald Trump tweet.

Yep. I’m a terrible person.

So, how about that UFC 216 main card? Pretty good, right?

I sure hope you like submissions, because UFC gave you submissions with a side of extra submissions, including a rear naked choke by Mara Romero Borella, an armbar by Fabricio Werdum against Walt “How the Hell Did I Get Here?” Harris, and a baller triangle choke by Tony Ferguson to Kevin Lee to become the Number 1 fighter Conor McGregor won’t be interested in fighting next.

Sure, Dana. Of course you aren’t booking McGregor vs. Diaz III. Whatever you say…

Of all the submission victories on the card, though, the most impressive was, by far, the one executed by UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson in his record setting 11th title defense vs. Ray Borg.

Yeah, sure, the fight before it also ended in an armbar, one that came so fast Mark Godbeer, Harris’ original opponent before Walt won the “Get My Arm Ripped Off By a Second Degree Black Belt Sweepstakes,” barely had time to get to the seat UFC gave him in lieu of being paid (I also hear he got a free buffet voucher), but that was nothing more than a master class in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

What DJ did was something out a damn video game.

Hey, maybe all that time spent livestreaming Marvel vs. Capcom is finally paying off in the cage.

Also, if that submission isn’t featured in WWE 2K18, I ain’t buying it. I don’t care how finger-lickin’ good Colonel Sanders’ finishing move is (I hear preorders come with a choice of dipping sauce…).

Then again, if I buy the game, I’d only use it to make Ronda Rousey CAWs so I can tap out everyone on the roster and then cry myself to sleep. Y’know, a typical Saturday night.

Seriously, how many fighters have the ability to lift an opponent up, as if attempting a German Suplex, only to then grab the opponent’s arm while in midair, ready to pull it out of the poor bastard’s shoulder socket as soon as they hit the ground?

That is a move only one of the greatest fighters in the UFC could pull off, a move that has blown the entire MMA community away with the sheer amount of speed and skill it took to execute.

Oh, so NOW you all care about DJ…

The only thing that would have made the moment more spectacular would be if it had happened in the main event, which is where Demetrious should be fighting considering he’s the most dominant champion in the company.

I can understand the original fight getting pulled from UFC 215 may have caused some issues when it was rebooked for Saturday’s show but UFC seriously booked a title fight, one where the champion was set to become the most successful champion the UFC has ever seen, as co-main event to an interim title fight? Seriously?

Did UFC think Ferguson vs. Lee would draw better than Johnson vs. Borg? I mean, granted, Borg, like most of DJ’s past opponents, was an unknown coming into this fight. All I knew about him was that he has trouble making weight and he has a pet pig (that’s one way to sell yourself as a badass…) but the majority of the MMA fanbase still don’t know who Ferguson or Lee are either, which is unfortunate for Tony. Lee, on the other hand, was only in the fight because Khabib Nurmagomedov didn’t take it.

The only reason UFC still went ahead with Ferguson vs. Lee over Johnson vs. Borg is because they thought two guys who can talk would sell the card better than two who can’t (or choose not to). Also, I’m sure they were hoping to end the night with someone screaming “MCNUGGETS!” into Joe Rogan’s microphone, which must mean they were satisfied with how everything turned out.

Well, other than the “Ceast and Desist” letter they are about to get from McDonald’s.

I’m sure DJ was okay with it. He did set the record Saturday night and got to face a Ray Borg who made the fight a lot more competitive than anyone expected it to be. DJ even got Payperview points for this fight, the first time he’s gotten them in his entire record-setting career. I bet he would have made a lot of money if UFC hadn’t blown their load on MayMac and actually attempted to promote the fights on this card.

C’mon, guys. We can’t expect Fabricio Werdum’s homophobic slurs to do all the promotional heavy lifting, can we?

Still, it’s not right. It’s not right that Demetrious was the co-main event of this card. It’s not right that he still serves as the co-main event for so many cards when similarly dominant fighters, like Georges St-Pierre, were almost always the main event. It’s not right that the UFC puts little effort in promoting the man because they feel it’d be wasted dollars due to fan apathy. It’s not right the fans care so little about a fighter they perceive to be too small or to be in fights they perceive to be too boring without the bloodshed and/or increased risk of brain damage they expect out of their MMA.

We seriously do not deserve Demetrious Johnson. None of us do.

He’s the kind of fighter who will continue to dominate but also continue to go underappreciated in his own time. Fans will either never come around to his greatness or they will by the time he’s inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, talking about how amazing he was as a fighter despite the fact those same people were the ones who gave him crap for fighting lesser competition even though the exact same thing happened to GSP and Anderson Silva as they cleaned out their divisions.

Then again, they rarely had to face opponents who were jumping up from the untelevised portion of the prelims. Thanks for all your hard work, UFC booking and marketing teams.

For as good as DJ is as a fighter, we’ve never been able to match that level with our fandom, or lack of it, which is a real shame.

DJ is the best fighter in the world, and will likely be for years to come, but does that really matter when so many people are indifferent to him, when the company he works for puts so little effort into making sure everyone knows how great he is?

I mean, what’s stopping the UFC from dropping him from the roster right now? They already threatened to cut his weight class when he chose to fight Borg over TJ Dillashaw. His fights don’t draw and they’ve cut top ranked fighters before for not being worth the paltry amounts of money they were making to help keep the company’s credibility intact. I see no reason why they couldn’t and wouldn’t do that to an active champion. Right now, I’m waiting for Dana White to go from calling Demetrious Johnson the best ever to doing the same to Michael Bisping or Max Holloway or (hopefully) Cris Cyborg.

There’s very little loyalty in this sport. There can’t be when money is what keeps the machine in motion and the mentality is always “What have you done for me lately?” What Demetrious Johnson has done lately is fight with honor and intelligence and integrity and deliver another elite performance en route to becoming the most decorated UFC champion ever.

But Conor McGregor just scored 4.4 million Payperview buys and GSP is coming back so who cares about Demarcus Whatshisname.

You deserve better, Demetrious. You really do. You’ll get what’s coming to you someday but, until that time, I’m grateful to still have you here and I will continue to watch you compete as long as you continue to kick ass in spectacular ways. Or any way really.

At the very least, you’ll be able to kick ass at WWE 2K18 when that comes out. Did you know you can compete in an 8 man ladder match?

Yeah! I’m going to be Mr. Money in the Bank! Also, suffering from severe depression!

Evan Zivin has been writing for 411 MMA since May of 2013. Evan loves the sport, and likes to takes a lighthearted look at the world of MMA in his writing…usually.