Should Demetrious Johnson Fight TJ Dillashaw
Demetrious Johnson vs. TJ Dillashaw is the UFC's goal, but is it the right call?
Demetrious Johnson is on the verge of history. Tying Anderson Silva's record of ten successful title defences in April, he could face his biggest test to date in the record-breaker as TJ Dillashaw has offered to move down to flyweight to challenge for the title. Dana White is a man who likes money. He understands better than anyone this is the biggest money fight in the history of the flyweight division and is pushing hard for it.
There's just one problem. DJ wants to fight Ray Borg instead. Failing that, he'll take Sergio Pettis.
While there's no denying Johnson vs. Dillashaw is a much bigger fight than Johnson vs. Borg or Johnson vs. Pettis, DJ has very legitimate reasons for wanting nothing to do with the TJ Dillashaw fight. 'Mighty Mouse' has been very public with his dissatisfaction over the idea of Dillashaw dropping to 125 pounds for the first time ever and going straight into a title fight, even revealing that he called the promotion's bluff when they threatened to close the division if he didn't take the fight.
Should DJ take the TJ fight? We'll have a look at some of the key arguments.
11. Yes – It’s The Biggest Fight On DJ’s Radar Right Now
At UFC on Fox 24 back in April, Demetrious Johnson defeated Wilson Reis via third round armbar to tie the record with 10 successful title defences. A big deal right? In a fight sense certainly, but the viewing figures tell a different story. UFC on Fox 24 did the second lowest ratings of any fight card on national Fox in the US. The only Fox card lower was a Carlos Condit-Demian Maia card which was shown on tape delay in 15 American States as it was bumped for a pre-season NFL game. That's a bad look for the champion.
Would the numbers be better if the next challenger was Ray Borg? It's hard to make a convincing argument that they would be. You certainly couldn't main event a pay-per-view with it. But you could main event a pay-per-view with DJ vs. TJ and it would do good business.
Is it a super-fight? Not exactly, but flyweight has nothing close on its radar. With DJ being offered pay-per-view points for the Dillashaw fight, he'll make more money in this fight than any other in his career. Johnson vs. Borg makes pay-per-view as a co-main event at best, though probably stays on free TV. Money wise, DJ vs. TJ is an absolute no brainer.