Future UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson believes the UFC brass hurt its credibility with their recent Diego Lopes announcement.
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes in a relatively immediate rematch in the UFC 325 main event next month in Sydney. Volkanovski defeated Lopes by unanimous decision to win the then-vacant featherweight belt at UFC 314 earlier this year.
But after Lopes rallied to defeat Jean Silva at Noche UFC, the UFC matchmakers gave Lopes the green light to leapfrog over Movsar Evloev, Lerone Murphy, and others for another title shot. The UFC 325 fight announcement left many fans and pundits scratching their heads after the first fight between Volkanovski and Lopes was a lopsided affair.
A UFC legend took things a step further as he blasted the UFC matchmakers and accused them of hurting the sport’s credibility.
Demetrious Johnson blasts UFC’s decision for Diego Lopes title shot
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, UFC legend Demetrious Johnson weighed in on the Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 backlash.
“You had the opportunity to fight for the belt. You lost. It was four (rounds to) one. I feel everybody feels comfortable saying that,” Johnson said of Lopes. “I felt Alex Volkanovski won that fight in dominant fashion. Then Diego Lopes goes on to beat Jean Silva. He gets rocked there. It’s a back-and-forth fight. It was a war. It’s one fight, and he gets the opportunity to have another title shot. Now is it because he’s very popular? 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 is better? That is where I like to question the legitimacy of this thing we call a ‘sport.’ That’s why I always say it’s not a sport. It is pick and choose.
“‘I’m going to push this athlete because he has a market that I want to infiltrate, he has a market that we haven’t been able to get our foot in or our roots in, and we’re not really worried about that’,” Johnson continued on Lopes. “That’s fine. Just let me know that.” (h/t MMA Junkie)