Fans are deeply emotional after Alexandre Pantoja’s title reign came to a sad end at UFC 323. Just seconds into the fight, ‘The Cannibal’ suffered what looked like an elbow injury but later turned out to be a shoulder issue. Because of that freak accident, Pantoja took a TKO loss, and Joshua Van became the new king of the flyweights. As the UFC world expressed its disappointment, Demetrious Johnson’s reaction to the fight drew unexpected backlash.

“Hey, boys, guess what? The eleven consecutive title stays intact.” ‘Mighty Mouse’ said on his YouTube channel, reacting to Alexandre Pantoja’s freak injury at T-Mobile Arena.

For the unversed, Demetrious Johnson holds 11 consecutive title defenses in the UFC flyweight division, the second-most in UFC history behind Jon Jones’ 13. Because of that incredible feat, ‘DJ’ always sits high in GOAT conversations. And after Alexandre Pantoja showed his dominance, many fans believed he would eventually take Johnson’s place. But after UFC 323, the Brazilian’s streak sadly stopped at four.

However, when the former UFC flyweight champion made that comment, which also came off as a joke, fans turned on him a bit. They started believing Demetrious Johnson didn’t actually want Alexandre Pantoja to break his record.

Honestly, ‘Mighty Mouse’ has always spoken highly of the Brazilian and his contributions to the sport. Talking about the injury further in the video, he actually empathised with the fact that Alexandre Pantoja’s shoulder break came from him getting into regular wars inside the Octagon.

“But man, that’s part of the game, guys. Like, to keep going in (the Octagon) and do it time and time again, over and over… it’s hard man. It’s a sport where anything could f—in happen.” DJ added in his video.

Still, fans decided to push back, reminding Demetrious Johnson that he could risk his integrity by making jokes or comments at a time when Alexandre Pantoja’s supporters are drowning in disappointment.

Fans grill Demetrious Johnson for harshly commenting on Alexandre Pantoja’s loss

A fan quickly chimed in and wrote, “That little joke just proved that he actually wanted to see Pantoja lose all along lmao.” Well, Demetrious Johnson indeed made a joke, but it is tricky to say whether he actually meant it or not. But the same sentiment continued as another user wrote, “DJ so happy about Pantoja injuries he can’t hide it.”

Again, ‘Mighty Mouse’ doesn’t have any public beef with Alexandre Pantoja, nor has he ever been vocal about protecting his records in the UFC. However, there was a moment when ‘The Cannibal’ called him out after defeating Kai Asakura at UFC 310  to settle the flyweight GOAT debate. The competitive energy was there, but nothing materialized because ‘DJ’ didn’t want to break his retirement. And that’s pretty much the only connection between them, rivalry-wise.

Still, some fans seemed very upset with Demetrious Johnson’s comments, as one of them wrote, “DJ beat bums for 90% of his career.” Which isn’t true, given he defeated Kyoji Horiguchi, Ray Borg, and Wilson Reis when they were at their best.

After the backlash, a more logical fan commented, “Who wants to see their own record broken?” And that’s true. In most cases, competitive athletes don’t exactly love watching their records get wiped out. But Johnson has never explicitly said he didn’t want Pantoja to break his streak, so we don’t know whether ‘DJ’ actually believes that or not. 

Following those comments, another fan wrote, “You’re still the GOAT. The real fans know.” Absolutely true. Whether Pantoja ever broke Johnson’s record or not, ‘Mighty Mouse’ would still be considered one of the greatest ever to do it. 

That said, do you think fans went a little harsh on ‘DJ’ for making a joke? Or were they right to call him out? Let us know in the comments section below.