UFC record holder sparks controversy and lashes out against women's MMA: 'It's way behind the times'

"Women's MMA is way behind," says Demetrious Johnson . Photo: Reproduction Twitter ufc_brasil

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Demetrious Johnson sent a message. The former UFC flyweight champion (up to 56,7 kg) did not hide his frustration with the selection of Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title fight (up to 61,2 kg) against Kayla Harrison at UFC 324 in January 2026 in Las Vegas (USA).

In a conversation with Sean O'Malley on his YouTube show 'Mightycast', Demetrious Johnson refuted journalist Ariel Helwani's argument that the women's fight should be the main event instead of Gaethje vs. Pimblett.

“Honestly, in my opinion, I like that Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett are the main event. First, I don’t like the idea of ​​Amanda Nunes coming out of retirement for that fight. I prefer someone who has achieved what she has achieved in MMA. I like to let our legends rest in peace. Let them go to paradise. Are you telling me there’s no one in the division who can’t face Kayla Harrison ? Let me take a look at this division. I feel that women’s MMA is way behind. I might get a lot of criticism for this, but I feel that the level of talent is far below what is expected,” explained Demetrious Johnson on the 'Mightycast' program.

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Demetrious Johnson continued commenting on the UFC 324 card and who could challenge Kayla Harrison . For the multi-champion, there's no need to bring someone out of retirement, even if it's a legend like Amanda Nunes . Demetrious understands that it's necessary to develop new opponents.

“When I analyze the situation, we have Julianna Peña , who has already been defeated… Why not put Norma Dumont , Ketlen Vieira , Yana Santos , or Irene Aldana in ? They need to bring a legend out of retirement for this fight. I don’t like that. For me, Paddy Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje is much more exciting than Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes ,” concluded Demetrious Johnson.

Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes will face off in the second most important fight of the night at UFC 324.

Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes are scheduled for the second most important fight of the night at UFC 324. The bantamweight champion, Kayla, remains undefeated in the organization, having won her first three fights against Holly Holm , Ketlen Vieira , and Julianna Peña.

Kayla Harrison became the champion of the category by defeating Julianna Peña via submission in the second round of UFC 316 in June 2025. With the belt in hand, the UFC understood that Amanda Nunes would be a better challenger for Kayla than the other top-ranked fighters.

A legend of the sport, Amanda Nunes retired after defeating Irene Aldana via unanimous decision at UFC 289 in June 2023. Amanda hung up her gloves as bantamweight champion. Now, called upon for this new challenge, the Brazilian is preparing to return and try again for the title that was once all hers.

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