Well despite his large fanbase on Sherdog, nobody really gives a shit about Demetrious Johnson in the real world. If they'd had some ruthless killer as champ, it could've only helped.
A lot of people resistant to 125 and 135 saw Johnson and Cruz' fighting styles and said no thanks to those whole divisions. Meanwhile, the divisions are filled with very exciting, killer instinct dudes. A lot of people watch only UFC because they don't have time to scope out lesser-known promotions, and they want to see the best in the world because UFC's roster is so deep. This led to people looking at the prominent fighter in these new lesser-known divisions and jumping to false conclusions. I mean no one in their right mind could call Faber's fights boring point-fighting. It's just not true.
I'm still pissed about the bullshit stoppage with Faber and Barao, and while he's probably never going to be a household name, I think if Renan keeps finishing dudes in great fashion, he'll be a great help in continuing these divisions' successful assimilation.