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Tough sell: Why Demetrious Johnson still doesn't draw for the UFC

Nobody, apparently, wanted to talk to Demetrious Johnson. That was a problem for the UFC public relations staff because Johnson, its highly regarded flyweight champion, defends his belt in the main event of UFC 186 on Saturday against Kyogi Horiguchi at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Injuries and a court ruling decimated the planned main card, and the Johnson-Horiguchi fight was moved into the main card slot. If the card doesn't sell, the PR team is going to hear it from the bosses, particularly CEO Lorenzo Fertitta and president Dana White.

Unlike boxing promoters, who focus almost to a fault on the main event only, the UFC for years has tried to use the depth of its card as an inducement to fans to buy its pay-per-view offerings. While it has an impact, the reality is that the biggest driver in sales is the perception of the main event.

If the public is interested in the fight or the fighters in the main event, typically, the card will do well. And if not, it will struggle somewhat.

That meant the UFC's estimable PR staff led by Dave Sholler had a massive challenge ahead of it.

It had to A) convince reporters to write about Johnson; B) try to find a way to get Johnson to be more compelling without compromising who he is as a man; C) sell a bout in which Johnson is roughly a 10-1 favorite as a competitive, must-see match and D) drum up interest in a fight that is in one of the UFC's least-popular weight classes.

There are easier jobs.

Now, Johnson is exactly the kind of guy any father would want coming to the door to date his daughter (OK, Johnson is married with two kids and a little beyond the dating stage at this point, but you get the idea).

And without question, he's one of the elite fighters in the world. He's ranked third on the UFC's pound-for-pound list, voted upon by media, behind only light heavyweight champion Jonny "Bones" Jones and featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

So, the media who cover the UFC and vote in its poll are essentially saying that Johnson is a better fighter than, oh, women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey (No. 6), middleweight champion Chris Weidman (No. 4) and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (No. 5).

Demetrious Johnson has one loss in his UFC career, to then-bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. (Getty)
Demetrious Johnson has one loss in his UFC career, to then-bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. (Getty)

Johnson is the real deal. Any guy good enough to defeat Joseph Benavidez twice and John Dodson once is one of the world's finest fighters. He's made five consecutive successful UFC title defenses. A win over Horiguchi on Saturday would be his sixth and leave him in fifth place alone for the most consecutive successful defenses, behind Anderson Silva (10), Georges St-Pierre (9), Jones (8) and Aldo (7).

That is the elite of the elite when it comes to MMA.

But if fans ranked their favorite UFC weight classes from 1 through 11, the flyweights would almost certainly place in the bottom three and perhaps land all the way at the bottom.

And while Johnson is not a household name in the way that, say, Rousey is, Horiguchi is absolutely invisible by comparison.

That makes it difficult to sell Saturday's card. Now, the question is, is that Johnson's responsibility or is it the UFC's? If the Patriots don't sell out, is it Tom Brady's fault? Should LeBron James take it upon himself to pitch tickets for the Cavaliers' upcoming game?

It's an interesting question.

The fight game is more of a partnership between the athlete and the promoter than it is in any other sport. It's pretty obvious at this point that Johnson is a much better fighter than he is a ticket seller. But is that his fault?

White often refers to the popular fighters, such as Rousey, Conor McGregor and Nick Diaz, as needle movers. Johnson was asked what the term meant to him and if he felt a sense of urgency at this point of his career to try to become one.

"You know, when I hear people [saying], 'Oh, he's a needle mover,' or 'He's not a needle mover,' that doesn't mean anything to me," Johnson said. "It just means a person wants to tune in more to watch that fight. That's all that means and to me, there's no sense of urgency.

"Like, I go out there and do all my media [obligations] and do all my stuff and pump up my fights the way I think it should be pumped up. I'm not going to go out there and start talking trash about my opponents. That's just not who I am."

Johnson then flipped the script and said he wanted to ask a reporter a question.

"What do you think, in your opinion, I should do to move that needle?" he asked.

Now, Johnson had spent a lot of time on the phone, talking to one reporter after another, and he had undoubtedly heard the same question, or a variation of it, in a number of his interviews.

After reflection, he was told there were three recommendations: Fight well and finish, if possible; have an opinion and answer questions honestly without being politically correct.

Demetrious Johnson celebrates after defeating Chris Cariaso at UFC 178. (AP)
Demetrious Johnson celebrates after defeating Chris Cariaso at UFC 178. (AP)

And finally, he was told, if he did those things and still didn't become a big draw, perhaps it is a factor out of his control.

"Oh yeah, I totally agree with you," Johnson said. "I look at it this way: I am always looking to fight the best guys in the world and I'm always trying to improve and be better at my job. And when I do interviews, when I'm asked a question, I answer it honestly and truthfully. But at that point, I have to leave it up to the public. It's in their hands to decide.

"It's not always just the fighter who is responsible, either. There are a lot of factors, I think."

White has said repeatedly that because the flyweight division is still relatively new, interest in it is still growing.

More to the point, though, is that it may well be nothing more than a perception issue.

There are fans out there who, however delusional they may be, look at a 125-pound fighter and just can't buy him as a tough guy. It's hard for that fan to look at a flyweight and say, "Yeah, that guy can kick my butt."

Now, when that same fan looks at someone like Jones or Cain Velasquez or a Brock Lesnar, no such thoughts ever come into his or her head.

It will help Johnson if he gets a rival, such as Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo or Dodson, one of the best athletes in the sport, who can challenge him for supremacy.

Right now, Johnson has lapped the field at flyweight, even if no one appreciates what a truly special accomplishment it is.