Johnson no longer repping Xbox in the cage, 'happy' about Reebok deal
For the first time in ages, Demetrious Johnson will set foot inside the Octagon without an Xbox logo emblazoned on his shorts.
With the UFC's exclusive sponsorship deal with Reebok kicking in at the beginning of July, Johnson will no longer be able to represent Microsoft inside the cage, a turn of events that put his deal with the software giant in jeopardy.
"I'm still in touch with them," Johnson told MMAFighting.com's Dave Doyle. "If any opportunities come up, then if I fit that role I'll be reached out. Other than that, it's just not there."
According to Johnson, he's happy to get guaranteed money from Reebok, and hinted his paydays were higher from Microsoft whenever he was featured on FOX.
"I'm happy about the Reebok thing," Johnson said. "Just because at the end of the day, even though the Xbox deal was there, at the end of the day, I'd still have to negotiate stuff with those guys. Because, 'is it going to be on PPV or is it on FOX?' Believe it or not, Xbox loved it more when I was on FOX than PPV. Because there's more viewers on FOX, it's a bigger platform."
An Xbox-less Johnson is set to defend his flyweight title in a rematch against John Dodson at UFC 191 on Saturday night.