Following his win over Kai Asakura at UFC 310 on Saturday, flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja made a bold call on the consensus greatest flyweight of all time, Demetrious Johnson.
After defeating Brandon Moreno last year to become UFC flyweight champion, Alexandre Pantoja has continued to establish himself as one of the best 125lb fighters ever.
'The Cannibal' defended his title two more times before being paired with promotional newcomer and former RIZIN bantamweight champion Kai Asakura at UFC 310.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Dana White responds to Alexandre Pantoja's call on Demetrious Johnson
The Brazilian submission specialist then scored a second-round submission victory over the Japanese striker, marking the eleventh submission win of his career to date.
Having already fought Moreno three times and Brandon Royval twice, Pantoja is running out of flyweight contenders to defend his title against.
That's why, after his extremely impressive win, the 34-year-old called for a big fight against former UFC flyweight champion and one of the greatest fighters of all time, Demetrious Johnson.
During his fruitful seven years in the UFC, 'Mightymouse' made 11 defenses of his title before leaving the promotion in the sport's first-ever trade, with Ben Askren coming over from ONE Championship, while Johnson went the other way.
Since leaving the UFC, Johnson's relationship with the UFC hasn't been great, and he even admitted that leaving the promotion to join ONE Championship was the best decision he ever made.
Despite this, UFC CEO Dana White admitted during the UFC 310 press conference that Pantoja's “Mightymouse” statement is “interesting” and did not shut it down.
“I don't know (if I would enjoy it). That's interesting. Listen, I was the one banging the drum about Demetrious Johnson a long time ago, so yeah, I don't know,” White said.
Demetrious Johnson explains why he won't return to fight Pantoja
However, the decision appears to have been taken out of the UFC boss's hands as Johnson immediately responded to Pantoja's bold call with a comical tweet on X.
However, in doing so, Johnson has delved deeper into why he will return not only to the UFC, but to MMA in general, after announcing his retirement earlier this year and subsequently becoming the first fighter inducted into the ONE Championship Hall of Fame.
“I was offered two million dollars to come and do one fight, one fight, and I said no. I said absolutely no. It wasn't in the UFC,” Johnson began to explain in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I've given myself a full year to see if I'm missing it, to see if it's my identity and that I haven't missed it… I don't want to rely on my body or I being the best in the world to can pay my bills.
“My resolution for 2024 was that I will never fight again. I'm not going to accept arguments that come to the table, I say no… So when Alex Pantoja called me, everyone blew me up asking what I think.
“Guys, I'm retired, I have no interest in fighting anymore… I'm not the best flyweight in the world anymore, my black ass is retired and I'm happily retired. I won't be Jose Aldo, I won't be Donald Cerrone coming back to fight, there's no point in coming back to fight,” Johnson stated.
Jose Aldo was widely considered the greatest featherweight of all time, but some fans believe he could tarnish his career by continuing to fight at the age of 38.
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