Demetrious Johnson can’t wrap his head around the UFC’s decision-making when it comes to the featherweight title.
At UFC on Feb. 1, 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski defends his title against Diego Lopes, the man he defeated in his most recent fight in April to capture a vacant belt. The surprising rematch has been met with much derision from the MMA community, with Lopes having fought just once (a knockout win over Jean Silva) before being granted another crack at Volkanovski.
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On his MightyCast show, Johnson criticized the booking, questioning why Lopes was given the shot over the undefeated Lerone Murphy.
“I want to reiterate and I want to stress this enough: Me having my thoughts and wondering why Diego got it over Lerone Murphy is not me talking shit or me being upset, it’s me questioning the thought process behind the matchmakers,” Johnson said. “It’s me questioning the legitimacy of the sport of mixed martial arts. Usually when an athlete is on win streak, he has the highest win streak in the division, he should be the No. 1 contender, right? Was Jean Silva the No. 1 contender? Was that a No. 1 contendership spot when Diego Lopes and Jean Silva fought? I’m not sure. Jean Silva was on a win streak as well, so if he would beat Diego Lopes, would that have got him a fight?
“I think in today’s mixed martial arts, people are getting rewarded a title shot—which is the most prestigious title you can have in mixed martial arts is a title shot, obviously—people are getting this prestigious opportunity after winning one fight. Now, I want you guys to sit down and think with me. You had your opportunity to fight for the belt. You list. It was 4-1, I think everybody feels comfortable saying that. I felt Alex Volkanovski won that fight in dominant fashion. Then Diego Lopes goes off and beats Jean Silva. He gets rocked there, it was a back-and-forth fight, it was a war. It’s one fight and he gets the opportunity to have another title shot.”
Lopes has risen rapidly in popularity since making his UFC debut in May 2023, when he stepped in on short-notice to face the undefeated Movsar Evloev and lost a competitive decision. He strung together five straight wins to earn his first title opportunity and though he fell short against Volkanovski, Lopes has earned a reputation for exciting fights and has large following in Mexico, where he lives and trains.
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Johnson understands why Lopes is a company favorite, but wishes the UFC was willing to be more transparent.
“Now, is it because [Lopes is] very popular?” Johnson said. “Is it because he sells a lot of tickets? I don’t know. But are we doing this for popularity or are we doing this because somebody’s better? That’s where I like to question the legitimacy of this thing we call a sport. And that’s why I always say on a hot take, it’s not a sport. It’s pick and choose and I’m going to push this athlete because he has a market that I want to infiltrate. He has a market that we have not been able to get out footing, our roots in, and we’re not really worried about that. That’s fine, just let me know that.
“Let the public know that because for the fans out there who spend every waking moment on there, they just want to understand the questioning of the machine. But at the same time, maybe it’s not our place to question the machine, maybe it’s our place just to sit here and enjoy the fights that the UFC are putting on, not have a rebuttal like, ‘That’s not how that should go.’”
Murphy’s snub was particularly confusing given the British veteran’s impressive run of form. This past August, Murphy scored an incredible first-round knockout against former Bellator star Aaron Pico to extend his win streak to nine and improve to 17-0-1 as a pro.
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It’s unclear why Murphy was passed over and Johnson would like to know if Murphy’s unbeaten streak wasn’t considered—or worse, not noticed.
“I think as a fan of the sport or the entertainment value or organization, it almost kind of rubs me—not rubs me the wrong way, but a lot of people just don’t understand the thinking of it,” Johnson said to Murphy, who was a guest on his show. “But then sometimes I sit here and think, should we be able to understand what they’re doing? When you look at somebody with your record and what you’ve been able to do in your career in the UFC, it’s almost like it doesn’t give it any substance. It’s almost like, OK, does that mean anything? Does that win streak mean anything?”
