Canada’s Kajan Johnson has issued a farewell statement to the UFC, as it appears he’ll be moving on from the promotion he frequently found himself at odds with.
It may come as no surprise to some, but Canada’s Kajan Johnson is out of the UFC. Johnson (23-14-1) finished his contract with the promotion at UFC Moscow earlier this month (losing to Rustam Khabilov), and it appears the UFC has no interest in bringing him back. Johnson posted a statement on Instagram on Saturday addressing the situation. For the sake of context, it’s worth noting that fellow Project Spearhead member Leslie Smith was bought out of her contract and sent packing just before UFC Atlantic City earlier this year.
Both fighters have been active in promoting Project Speadhead, which aims to determine whether fighters are employees or independent contractors (as the UFC currently treats them). The effort could eventually lead to unionization, although that is not its immediate goal.
Johnson previously told MMA Fighting that the UFC had shown zero interest in re-signing him. In fact, at that time, he no longer considered himself a UFC fighter. “As of right now I am definitely a free agent. I am no longer a UFC fighter, which is extremely disheartening to me because this is the best organization in the world,” Johnson said just six days ago. “It has all the best fighters in the world. The vast majority of the most skilled guys — there’s a couple in the other organizations that could be in that top-10 list, guaranteed — but as a whole there’s no other organization that has the wealth of high level martial artists like the UFC. And I want to be the best in the world.”
If there was any last-ditch effort to mend fences with the promotion, who surely didn’t take too kindly to Johnson’s fighter mobilization efforts, it clearly fell through. Interestingly enough, Bellator MMA launches its first of many events on DAZN in just a few hours — and could be a potential future home for Johnson. While the Canadian is on a two-fight losing streak, he remains a viable talent in nearly any promotion.
