Demetrious Johnson Says Larger Paychecks Will Motivate Him to Move up

Paychecks, not ego is what could sway Demetrious Johnson to move back up to bantamweight for some “super fights.”

Tomorrow night (Oct. 7), Johnson will defend his UFC flyweight title against Ray Borg. The bout will take place inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’ll serve as UFC 216‘s main event.

If “Mighty Mouse” successfully defends his title, he’ll break Anderson Silva’s record. It’s likely that fans will call for Johnson to move up in weight should he break Silva’s record. “Mighty Mouse” told UFC.com that the money has to be right:

“For me, it’s not about going up. I don’t have an ego in trying to fight guys who are bigger than me. I’ve been there and done that, and obviously the only thing that makes me intrigued to go up a weight class is if the paycheck is gonna be nicer.”

Johnson believes fans are in for a stellar performance.

“I think anybody I fought is the most dangerous guy I’ve ever fought, just because I’m the only champion ever to be in the flyweight division. If anybody can beat me, then they just became the man who decapitated the king. So I know he’s hungry, I know he’s young, and I’ve never taken any fighter lightly and I don’t take my paycheck lightly, so I’m gonna go out there and it’s gonna be one of the best performances you’ve ever seen.”