Detractors have since slammed the UFC for letting go of ‘Mighty Mouse’ – the consensus greatest flyweight of all time – in exchange for Askren, who no longer competes. However, ONE Championship Vice President Rich Franklin doesn’t think it’s fair to criticize the UFC over the move.
Check out the tweet below:
The way Franklin sees it, the UFC was unable to cash in on Johnson’s appeal due to their demographic. He furthered that Johnson wasn’t very popular in the UFC because American fight fans aren’t as invested in smaller fighters:
Franklin added that Johnson found the perfect audience in Asia, where fight fans are more appreciative of movement and technique. The former UFC middleweight champ continued:
Watch Rich Franklin’s interview with The Schmo below:
Rich Franklin predicts Demetrious Johnson’s return to American soil
His theory aside, Rich Franklin believes that Demetrious Johnson still has a relatively huge fanbase in the United States.
Franklin revealed that ONE’s American expansion through Prime Video was a success thanks in large part to ‘Mighty Mouse’:
With that in mind, the 47-year-old executive believes it’s only a matter of time before ONE stages an event in the US. He offered that the best matchup to build it on is a trilogy bout between Johnson and Adriano Moraes.
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