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Demetrius Johnson is a good fighter. He has had a long reign as flyweight champion and defended against some top opponents. However, in recent years, his level of competition has really dropped off and many people are hoping that he will move up in weight. However, any time you criticize Demetrius, his rabid defenders (a small but passionate group) will jump to call you a hater of the smaller weight classes and say you're not a real fan of MMA which are completely untrue statements for a lot of us. I want to clear the air as to why I think Demetrius has worn out his welcome and why it has nothing to do with his size.
The issue with Demetrius is that he ran out of contenders years ago and yet instead of challenging himself and fighting contenders at a higher weight class (or agreeing to fight TJ at Flyweight which he was offered), he has just lingered around fighting completely undeserving bottom feeders to pad his record. That would be like DC remaining in 205 right now in the ridiculous state it's in. If DC started defending against the likes of Corey Anderson and Gian Villante for several years, people would be tired of him as well. However, unlike Demetrius, DC is going up to fight the current champ at HW in a dangerous but highly anticipated showdown. DC was also a top contender at the weight class above him, like DJ, and both would likely be successful - but only one is going to do it.
It'd be all well and good if Demetrius just flat out admitted he didn't want to go back to 135 but his complaining about respect, lack of viewership for his cards, and low pay have really wore thin considering the crap quality of opponents he has had over the last few years. Meanwhile, he is constantly plugged as a the #1 most skilled fighter in the world when he is totally unwilling to do something that numerous other fighters have done in recent years over much bigger gaps in weight (Rich Franklin, Jake Shields, BJ Penn, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, GSP, Conor, Nate Diaz, DC, MAX HOLLOWAY, Urijah Faber, Robert Whittaker, etc have all gone up to take fights at higher weight classes). He can't have it both ways: if he wants respect and to be paid more, he needs to fight someone that fans would be interested to see him fight. If he's going to fish around the top 15 looking for opponents while his hype train continues...yeah... forgive me if I'm not impressed.
I think both Demetrius and flyweight would both benefit if he at least tested the waters against someone at 135 once in a while and let some sort of legitimate flyweight contender emerge. Before defenders leap to say "He's fought at 135 many times in the past!!!" yeah... he did... over 6 years ago. He has not gone back up at all after totally cleaning out 125 (and then some) so refusing to go back to a division he was also successful in is pretty hard to defend when Ray Borg is your most recent opponent at 125. I think he would be successful at 135 again as well so I don't know why his fans are so against it. Thoughts?
The issue with Demetrius is that he ran out of contenders years ago and yet instead of challenging himself and fighting contenders at a higher weight class (or agreeing to fight TJ at Flyweight which he was offered), he has just lingered around fighting completely undeserving bottom feeders to pad his record. That would be like DC remaining in 205 right now in the ridiculous state it's in. If DC started defending against the likes of Corey Anderson and Gian Villante for several years, people would be tired of him as well. However, unlike Demetrius, DC is going up to fight the current champ at HW in a dangerous but highly anticipated showdown. DC was also a top contender at the weight class above him, like DJ, and both would likely be successful - but only one is going to do it.
It'd be all well and good if Demetrius just flat out admitted he didn't want to go back to 135 but his complaining about respect, lack of viewership for his cards, and low pay have really wore thin considering the crap quality of opponents he has had over the last few years. Meanwhile, he is constantly plugged as a the #1 most skilled fighter in the world when he is totally unwilling to do something that numerous other fighters have done in recent years over much bigger gaps in weight (Rich Franklin, Jake Shields, BJ Penn, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, Anderson Silva, GSP, Conor, Nate Diaz, DC, MAX HOLLOWAY, Urijah Faber, Robert Whittaker, etc have all gone up to take fights at higher weight classes). He can't have it both ways: if he wants respect and to be paid more, he needs to fight someone that fans would be interested to see him fight. If he's going to fish around the top 15 looking for opponents while his hype train continues...yeah... forgive me if I'm not impressed.
I think both Demetrius and flyweight would both benefit if he at least tested the waters against someone at 135 once in a while and let some sort of legitimate flyweight contender emerge. Before defenders leap to say "He's fought at 135 many times in the past!!!" yeah... he did... over 6 years ago. He has not gone back up at all after totally cleaning out 125 (and then some) so refusing to go back to a division he was also successful in is pretty hard to defend when Ray Borg is your most recent opponent at 125. I think he would be successful at 135 again as well so I don't know why his fans are so against it. Thoughts?
