UFC flyweight king Demetrious Johnson has given with an answer to Alexandre Pantoja’s callout at UFC 310 and the current flyweight champion is not likely to be happy with Johnson’s response.
Pantoja defeated Kai Asakura with a second round rear naked choke to defend his belt on December 7, 2024 in Las Vegas. During his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan after beating Asakura, Pantoja said to Johnson, “I’m the GOAT here, if you want to prove you’re the GOAT, come back.”
On his YouTube channel, Johnson said about the callout, “My black a** isn’t coming out of retirement. Why would I do that?”
Johnson, 38, retired from MMA in September 2024 and last fought in May 2023, defending his ONE Flyweight Championship against Adriano Moraes. Johnson left the UFC after losing his title to Henry Cejudo in 2018 and was 5-1 in ONE from 2019 to 2023. In ONE, the flyweight division weight limit is 135 pounds, while the UFC is 125. Johnson holds the record for most UFC flyweight title defenses, 11, while Pantoja moved into second place with his third defense at UFC 310.
“The bank account is sitting nice and good. 38 years old. 11 title defenses,” Johnson said in his video. “Champ ain’t coming back.”
Demetrious Johnson Says He’s Been Offered $2 Million to Fight
Johnson said he’s turned down a chance to return to fighting.
“I’ve been offered $2 million to come and do one fight,” Johnson said on YouTube. “And what do you guys think I said? I said no. I said absolutely no. And it wasn’t with the UFC, it wasn’t against Alexandre Pantoja. I’m not going to tell you who it was with, but I got offered $2 million to fight. But there comes a time in an athlete’s career when you sit back and think, ‘Why am I fight? Is it to be the best in the world? S*** I was the best in the world for six years. Not just in America, but also in Japan, and I went up a division.”
Johnson added, “And then you sit back and when I made that decision I don’t care to fight anymore I gave myself a full blown year to see if I was going to miss it. If it’s my identity. And I didn’t miss it.”
He said about the callout, “I’m so happy for Pantoja. I’m happy he got his third title defense. I’ve always thought he was an amazing athlete. He’s the greatest flyweight in the world right now. … I’m not the best flyweight in the world anymore. … I’m happily retired.”
The UFC’s Options Are Limited for Alexandre Pantoja’s Next Flyweight Title Defense
During the post-fight press conference at UFC 310, Dana White said, “I don’t know,” when asked if Johnson returning to fight Pantoja would be something they’d even entertain if Johnson was interested.
“That’s interesting,” White said. “I was the one beating the drum about Demetrious Johnson a long time ago.”
If Johnson is off the table, the UFC has limited options to turn to for Pantoja’s fourth title defense. Pantoja has already defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked flyweights, Brandon Royval and Brandon Moreno, in championship bouts. And the 3rd-ranked fighter, Amir Albazi, is coming off of a loss to Moreno. Rising star Tatsuro Taira lost his undefeated record and six-fight UFC win streak to Royval
The UFC could set up a rematch between Pantoja and Royval, or a fourth fight between Pantoja and Moreno. But Pantoja has defeated Royval twice and beat Moreno twice in the UFC and once on The Ultimate Fighter (which is considered to be an exhibition match).
Kai Kara-France, the 4th-ranked flyweight, is coming off a first round knockout win over former title contender Steve Erceg, which could jump him to the title shot. Kara-France has not fought Pantoja in the UFC, but did lose to him on The Ultimate Fighter in 2016.
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Demetrious Johnson Answers Alexandre Pantoja’s UFC 310 Callout