“At the end of the day it’s still going to be a historic night for me whether I win or lose. I plan on winning,” Johnson said during UFC 215’s media conference call earlier this week. “So, with that being said, I’m not going to let McGregor or Mayweather or their 6.5 million pay-per-view buys water down my thing. Or the UFC advertising UFC 216 instead of UFC 215 and (advertising) the May-Mac pay-per-views. That just shows you where their mind is at right now when it comes to promoting.”
And as for THAT interview, you know, the one where Mr. Ray Borg said he thought we retire the great Demetrious Johnson… Well, in case you din’t see THAT, here it is.
“For the sport he’s getting old, especially as long as his title reign has been,” Borg told MMAjunkie at Thursday’s UFC 215 media day. “He’s never been in any crazy wars, but people don’t realize that you don’t have to be in a war to be getting taxed on your body and stuff like that. Training camp does enough of it. Going through as many training camps as this guy’s gone through, he’s getting older. He’s getting to the end of his career, and I think I’ll go ahead and put a stop to the end of his career for him.”
“I believe in my abilities to get to this point this early, but did I see it happen from a realist point of view? No, not really,” Borg said. “I told myself when I was young I want to be signed to the UFC by the time I’m 23. Now I just turned 24, and now I’m fighting for a world title. I’ve shown time and again in all my fights my whole career that whether people think I’m too young or not, I rise to the occasion and make it happen and I win fights. That’s what I do: I rise to the occasion and I win fights. Nothing is going to change from this. I’m going to go in there and rise the occasion. No matter how young I am, I’m going to win this fight.”
“After watching some of (Johnson’s) previous fights, seeing how he is evolving, getting into his older years, coming into his career, I just know that I can do it,” Borg said. “Especially after his past few fights. I just know I’m the guy to do it.”
And as for “Mighty Mouse’s” response… Heh heh…
“He ain’t retiring shit,” Johnson said. “I’m just getting started. I’m 31 years old. I’m feeling better than ever. Training is going easy, and I’ve already fought the hardest hitters and most athletic guys in the division. He’s a tough competitor, and we’ll see where his mouth is after fight night.”
