UFC
Dana White thinks Demetrious Johnson's day will come, doesn't "give a s***" about fans leaving UFC 186 early
Apr 26, 2015 - 11:25:24 AM Dana White thinks Demetrious Johnson's day will come, doesn't "give a s***" about fans leaving UFC 186 early

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson's technical brilliance on Saturday night was missed by many who attended UFC 186. That's because there were many walking out before the conclusion of the event, which saw Johnson score a fantastic last-second armbar over Kyoji Horiguchi.

UFC President Dana White was asked about fans leaving the arena early after the event, but he wasn't concerned about it, and thinks Johnson will eventually get the respect he deserves.

"I don't give a s*** what people are doing," White said of anyone walking out (via MMAFighting.com). "I'm watching the fight... It's kind of sad that Demetrious Johnson has this thing hanging over his head, he's not this, he's not that... He does everything the exact way he's supposed to. He comes in with a game plan and follows it to the letter. He's just one of these guys that has to put his head down, keep doing his thing and you have to respect him."

"Anderson Silva wasn't the biggest star ever when he was champion. Chuck Liddell wasn't a big star for a while. His day will come."

Penick's Analysis: It's unfortunate that people were walking out of that fight, but there's a large segment of the fanbase of MMA that doesn't care about technical brilliance. Johnson's performance was very calculated, and completely designed to wear down a very fast and talented fighter. It wasn't the most thrilling to watch at times, sure, but there isn't another fighter who continues fighting for a finish the way he's shown in late rounds. Horiguchi was a tough out, and had only lost once by majority decision into the fight. Johnson thoroughly dominated him and forced a tap with a second left. If you can't appreciate that level of skill there's no convincing you of Johnson's greatness. Would it be nice to see more early finishes than extended technical displays? Sure. Against opponents with less grappling skill than Horiguchi it'll likely come. But he did more than enough against a difficult fighter to beat.

[Dana White art by Travis Beaven (c) MMATorch.com]