UFC flyweight Demetrious Johnson released a lengthy statement on Monday, airing several grievances he has with the promotion.
T.J. Dillashaw, who's been asking to fight Johnson at an unannounced UFC event in August, believes many of Johnson's grievances would be addressed if he would just agree to the fight.
"I feel like him fighting me would fix a lot of his problems," Dillashaw told ESPN's Five Rounds podcast. "He will get a pay-per-view cut and he's actually going to make the paychecks he's earned. He is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and I think this is the fight to get him paid.
"I understand where he's coming from on some of that stuff, but what I think he's doing is digging himself a deeper hole because this is a [fight] that will fix a lot of his problems. And let's say, for whatever reason, he beats me. It validates him more, increases his popularity and then he will be that guy who can go and push for more."
Johnson (26-2-1), the No. 1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world according to ESPN.com, has turned down the proposed fight against Dillashaw for multiple reasons.
In his statement on Monday, he said the UFC and president Dana White were attempting to "bully" him into the fight, when he already agreed to face Ray Borg on the same date. He also revealed the promotion has turned down his requests to receive pay-per-view bonuses in his future fights.
The Washington-based champion will attempt to break Anderson Silva's record of 10 consecutive title defenses in his next bout, and he says he has concerns about whether or not Dillashaw, a former bantamweight champion, can even make the 125-pound limit.
Johnson said he asked the UFC to write into his contract that he would receive his money and Dillashaw's in the event that Dillashaw misses weight and the fight is canceled. The UFC declined that demand, but Dillashaw said he would personally be fine with it.
"Put that in there," Dillashaw said. "I'm not gonna miss weight. That's not something I have to be worried about at all. I have it down to a perfect science.
"This is going to be the biggest hyped fight he's going to get. I feel like it's being overlooked too much by him. It's going to tarnish his name. I don't think he's going to be the greatest of all time dodging these fights."
White has continued to say publicly the fight will happen, going so far as to tell a UFC-sponsored podcast last week, "Unfortunately for D.J., you don't make the fights around here."
Dillashaw (14-3), who was scheduled to challenge 135-pound champion Cody Garbrandt at UFC 213 on July 8 until Garbrandt withdrew with a back injury, said he is currently in the process of dropping to 125 pounds, but said he hopes to have an answer soon, as he's currently hovering between two weight classes.
"He talks about not getting promoted and that is tough, but he finally has a chance," Dillashaw said. "I think Dana's frustration comes from him not being able to sell PPVs. And that is a fault of both. It's Demetrious and how safe he fights, as well as maybe not getting promoted enough. The fact, once again, is this could fix all the problems he's talking about.
"[I'll continue to cut] until I hear otherwise."