Demetrious Johnson responds to Alexandre Pantoja's callout, claims he turned down $2 million fight

Alexandre Pantoja has been left with few options for his next flyweight title defense following UFC 310, leading him to call out Demetrious Johnson, who officially retired from MMA in 2024.

The Brazilian faced UFC debutant Kai Asakura in the main event of the card. 'The Cannibal' submitted his opponent in Round 2, adding a third title defense to his list of accolades.

Pantoja's divisional dominance combined with the lack of an obvious next title contender has seen his gaze cast outside the UFC's crop of 125-pound fighters.

But his callout of 'Mighty Mouse' has not received the response that Pantoja would have hoped for. Johnson took to X to reply to the flyweight champion, writing:

"Guys I got offered 2 million dollars to fight!! I turned it down, I don't care to fight anymore. YouTube video dropping soon."

Catch Demetrious Johnson's reply to Alexandre Pantoja below:

With Johnson having turned down the 34-year-old's callout, Kai Kara-France ranked No.4 in the division, will make his push to face Pantoja next. The Kiwi indicated his keenness to face the winner of the UFC 310 main event, and having knocked out Steve Erceg in his previous fight, has an argument to be awarded the next title shot.

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Alexandre Pantoja responds to Demetrious Johnson shutting down his callout

UFC 310 saw Alexandre Pantoja take on former Rizin FF bantamweight champion Kai Asakura. The Brazilian looked as good as ever as he successfully defended his title via submission against the Japanese star.

After calling out Demetrious Johnson in his post-fight interview, and subsequently having that callout shut down by 'Mighty Mouse', Pantoja shared a response of his own with the former UFC fighter.

'The Cannibal' appeared in front of the media at the post-event press conference, where he was asked if he had seen Johnson's post on X. The flyweight champion said:

"The guy said something about money... Yeah, that's crazy because it's not about money. I don't fight more for the money, I fight to prove to myself that I'm the best of the best... Of course you need to pay your bills, you need to pay your mortgage and everything. But we're here to figure out who's the best of the best. That's what I did tonight... Demetrious Johnson, it's not about money, brother."

Check out Alexandre Pantoja's comments below (7:25):