The following are highlights of a new MMA Junkie interview with UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson:
On what he thought when he found out his fight date was moved when Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier was postponed:
“The stress was on me again. [Coach] Matt Hume was barking out orders. In my mind, I was like, ‘Ah, I’m not ready to hear this s–t again.’ Every once in a while, you need to come into the gym and have fun and enjoy it. When you prepare for a fight, a lot of stress goes on me, but sometimes I don’t think about it, because I handle stress very well.”
On his thoughts on the UFC Flyweight division:
“I don’t look at it like if I beat Chris Cariaso, I clean out the division. Honestly, I just pick up the phone when the UFC gives me an assignment, and when the UFC gives me an assignment, I go out there and execute my game plan. If people in the public and the media want to say I’ve cleaned out the division, that’s for them to say, but for me, it’s just another fight. There’s a lot of fighters left in the flyweight division that I haven’t fought yet, and my focus is there. Obviously, if Dana White came to me and said, ‘We’re hurting for a mega fight, would you go up and take on the 135-pound champion?,’ whoever that is when the time comes, and I am still champ at the same time, I’m pretty sure me and the bantamweight champion want to make some cheddar when it happens. As long as they’re willing to fork up a bit, and it makes sense for me and my camp, why not? I’m in this sport to make some money, not just staying champ and retaining my belt. At the end of the day, it’s about making the most money possible.”
On when he plans to fight again after UFC 178:
“I’m looking forward to fighting in January or February, because I want to get my snowboarding in. If I fight in February, that gives me time to do some snowboarding and enjoying life in winter time.”
You can check out the complete interview at MMAJunkie.com.
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