Demetrious Johnson argues TJ Dillashaw doesn’t belong in pound-for-pound discussion

UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw has been vocal in his belief that, if he gets his desired fight with UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, the winner of said fight will be MMA’s pound-for-pound king.

“[The fight is about] who’s the best pound-for-pound,” Dillashaw said on a recent episode of BJ Penn Radio. “It’s not some bullshit, hyped drama. This is what the sport is really about, it’s who is the best in the world. Demetrious got that number one spot. I feel like I’m the best fighter in the world, man, and I just want to prove it. DJ has my spot and I want to claim it. I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter. I had a couple split decision losses that I didn’t agree with it. If you throw those ones out of the way, I’d be on a 13 fight win streak, seven fight title defense. I’d be where I’m supposed to be, but this is the way for me to get to where I want to be. Demetrious is on top and it’s time for me to take him out.”

Johnson, however, doesn’t really agree with the bantamweight champ’s logic. In his eyes, Dillashaw doesn’t quite belong in the pound-for-pound debate, as he was nearly finished by Cody Garbrandt in his last fight, and has also endured several losses in the UFC.

“It’s a little different, especially when you’re talking about a bigger guy going down to fight a smaller guy. I think the reason people put that label on me is I’ve beaten every single type of style and skill set that’s come to me,” Johnson told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “I beat John Dodson twice — TJ lost to Dodson.”

“I’ve been a champion for five years,” The flyweight champion continued. “He hasn’t been a champion for a year yet. If he were to beat me, and everyone would say, ‘Oh, he’s the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world!’ and the next thing you know, he gets knocked out in a bantamweight fight, I would say that ‘reign’ would be cheap. It’s not warranted.”

“The reason I have that label is my longevity as a champion and dominating higher competition. His fight against Cody wasn’t a blowout, they exchanged and his punch landed. It wasn’t like he dominated him in wrestling or jiu-jitsu. That’s my personal opinion.”

Do you feel TJ Dillashaw belongs in the pound-for-pound debate, or is Demetrious Johnson correct?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/5/2018.