UFC legend Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has praised Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu star Craig Jones, claiming the Australian is revolutionising the sport and excelling as a promoter—so much so that he might even surpass UFC president Dana White in that role.
Johnson, widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, discussed Jones during a debate between Jones and Mikey Musumeci on his Mighty YouTube channel. The conversation focused on issues in the BJJ community, including exclusivity in competitions.
Jones has been promoting the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), including a $1 million super-fight against Chael Sonnen, broadcast free-to-air on YouTube. Johnson expressed admiration for Jones’s approach: “You’re a better promoter than Dana White, you’re killing it,” he said, noting how Jones creatively draws viewers to high-level grappling through engaging promotion.
Reflecting on his UFC experience, Johnson highlighted the contrast. Despite being at the top of his career in 2017, he struggled to generate pay-per-view interest in the flyweight division and was denied a $1 million purse for a proposed bantamweight fight against TJ Dillashaw. Johnson recalled Dana White telling him he wasn’t the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, citing Conor McGregor instead, despite McGregor’s recent defeats.
Johnson explained, “They could have used it, turned it, done different things to be able to market me… But they don’t do it. It’s funny now when you look at how you have the promoter, then you have the athlete. It’s the promoter’s job to promote the athlete’s fight, but nowadays they throw it more on the athlete to promote the event.”
In contrast, Johnson praised Jones for taking full control of promotion while keeping the focus on the sport and the athletes, making high-level BJJ accessible and engaging for fans worldwide.
