Demetrious Johnson remains one of the most accomplished fighters in UFC history, but his career also became closely associated with the promotion’s long-running fighter-pay debate. Now, a revelation about his UFC earnings has left current welterweight champion Islam Makhachev stunned. Ahead of his UFC 330 title defense against Ian Machado Garry, Makhachev joined Demetrious Johnson on the former champion’s YouTube show. During their conversation, the welterweight champion mentioned the purse of a horse racing champion in Dubai, who received $10 million, with the rider alone getting 10% of the prize money, $1 million. When Johnson revealed that he had never earned $1 million for a fight during his entire UFC run, Makhachev could barely believe it. “I didn’t make that in the UFC,” Mighty Mouse said. “No way! You never made more than $1 million?” Makhachev exclaimed. “Not in the UFC. No… I didn’t,” DJ responded. Saddened by the revelation, Makhachev replied, “I feel bad now, bro.” The reaction was particularly notable because Makhachev has rarely been outspoken about UFC fighter pay. At the moment, the Dagestani champion is one of the better-paid fighters in the promotion, reportedly bagging over $3 million for his fight against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 last year. Meanwhile, Demetrious Johnson spent much of his UFC career as the dominant force at flyweight but never reached the same financial heights. According to reports, the former UFC flyweight champion’s highest disclosed purse came from his title defense against Henry Cejudo at UFC 227 in August, 2018. Mighty Mouse reportedly received a flat fee of $380,000, despite losing his belt that night by split decision. Before that fight, Johnson had competed in 12 title fights overall and defended the 125-pound belt 11 times, a UFC record. Even so, he received a relatively low purse for a champion, and he later revealed how gutted he felt about it.
