Demetrious Johnson supports social media influencers fighting: 'These guys are training like full-time athletes'

You won’t hear Demetrious Johnson hating on the celebrity boxing world.

Johnson, who’s perhaps one of the most underappreciated fighters in the history of the sport, has no issues with social media influencers engaging in boxing matches.

The former UFC flyweight king and ONE Championship contender says a lot of these celebrities such as Jake Paul and Logan Paul are actually putting the work in and deserve the credit for garnering such a massive interest to their fights.

“When you have unlimited money, when you have millions of dollars and you don’t have to do a 9-5 job, you have the best access to the trainers, you have the best access to nutrition, you train for eight weeks for somebody, you are gonna become the product of something,” Johnson said in an interview courtesy of ONE Championship. “So people think that Jake Paul, Logan Paul, they just got off the couch playing video games, that’s not the f*cking case. These guys are training like full-time athletes. These guys train better than some of the professional athletes that have been in the game for five or 10 years.”

Johnson gets why MMA fighters are irked by the celebrity boxing world and their massive paydays, but from his experience of being an under-the-radar champion in the UFC despite his dominance of the flyweight division, he understands that building your brand will pay off.

“I support the YouTubers, the TikTokers and the thing is, at the end of the day it’s about making money,” Johnson said. “Those guys have such a big following and a lot of the athletes complain how Jake Paul, Logan Paul, those guys are making million-dollar paydays and us athletes have been in this sport for years and will never see a payday like that. The reality is your brand and your likeness or your following is what sells, and I’ve learned that from when I was in a North-America-based promotion and it’s proven to this day.”