Kajan Johnson isn’t afraid to speak out for what’s right.
The fighter is part of the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association (MMAFA), a group of active and retired fighters with a goal of gaining rights for the sport’s athletes. This includes increasing fighter pay, among many other things.
The potential formation of a union or association is a hot topic among the mixed martial arts community right now, thanks to the recent launch of the Professional Fighters Assocation (PFA). Both groups have their differences. The PFA is looking to create a union just for UFC fighters. The MMAFA is focusing not just on the UFC, but also every other organization out there, including Bellator MMA and World Series of Fighting (WSOF).
At the end of the day, however, the long-term goal is essentially the same.
Johnson, a current UFC lightweight, doesn’t believe it is necessary to have two groups gunning for the same goal, especially when both need more support.
“I think that when we’re splitting the effort, we’re taking away from the cause,” he told BloodyElbow.com’s The MMA Circus. “[The people behind the PFA] are all heavy hitters. We could use them on our team. I don’t see why we have to split the effort. I don’t see why we can’t work together. We’re all trying to do the same thing, right? We’re all trying to do make an organization so that the fighters will get their fair shake. If that’s the end goal, let’s just combine our forces, combine our efforts, and get this thing done.
“I’m not here to chuck stones at them. If their heart is in the right place, then I’m stoked for it. If it’s some weird back-door shady thing that’s going on in order to kind of create an organization that is falsely supporting fighters, then I’m not so down. But I don’t think that’s the case. The ideal situation for me would be for everybody to just get along, join forces, and just hit this thing home. But I’m just one fighter. I’m just Kajan.”
Johnson expects that the MMAFA will continue to gain momentum because it involves all MMA fighters, not just combatants signed by the UFC, the sport’s premier promotion.
“I believe that the fighters will see the hole in the game,” he said. “I see the hole, anyway, I don’t know if everybody else can see the hole. It seems wrong to me that they would only represent fighters within the UFC. I don’t see how we’re really going to make any serious changes with that approach. That’ll only solidify the UFC’s monopoly on the sport. We’re out to look after all fighters, not only the ones that are signed by the UFC.
“I’m not very supportive of the PFA, mainly because they’re only trying to unionize or create an association for the fighters that are within the UFC.”
Another reason Johnson believes the MMAFA will continue to gain momentum over the PFA is that the MMAFA already has support from several fighters, including but not limited to Randy Couture, Jon Fitch, Ken Shamrock and Cung Le.
“If you’re trying to create a fighters association, it’s not really going to work without the fighters’ support. That’s all it is,” Johnson explained. “If we can get everybody to sign onto this thing, then we have the power. If nobody signs on, then we have absolutely no power, like we have now. Key would be an understatement. It’s necessary.”
The MMAFA is continuing to recruit new fighters each and every day. Johnson hopes that eventually all of the UFC’s top dogs, including its 10 title holders, join the MMAFA. He believes that the group would take a massive leap forward if that happens.
“If everybody on minimum wage right now all stood together and joined this thing, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, OK, we’re the MMAFA, you have to deal with us now.’ [The UFC] would be like, ‘You’re all cut. We don’t care. We don’t care about you. We can replace you. You’re replaceable.’ But the people that are irreplaceable are the champions and the top five or top 10 in every division. So if we can get that, we’re golden.”
MMAFA supporters can choose to keep their membership a secret, if they wish. It is unknown how many fighters support the association off the record, but it is probable that that number is somewhat high.
Nevertheless, Johnson is a rare case. He and UFC women’s bantamweight Leslie Smith are the only current UFC fighters who are publicly members of the MMAFA. Johnson said he has talked to many fighters that want an association or union but are not willing to stand up against the UFC. The 32-year-old knows that doing what he’s doing — standing up for fighter rights — is a major risk to his career, especially as a non-ranked fighter. But he’s willing to take that risk, and wishes more fighters are, as well.
“I don’t understand why [fighters who support the MMAFA privately] have no balls; I don’t know why me and Leslie Smith are the only people on the roster willing to go on the record and be like, ‘Yo, we need to unite’,” he said. “It’s not rocket science. Everybody in the game knows that this is the right thing to do. Everybody knows that this is what we need. Nobody that I’ve spoken to, no fighter from anywhere that I’ve spoken to about this, has been like, ‘Yo, dude, that’s wrong, we don’t need a union, you’re just gonna f-ck the game up.’ Nobody has said that. Everybody has just said, ‘Yo, dude, you know you’re signed, right? You should just chill out, man. Make your money, get out.’
“Everybody’s scared to lose their job. Everybody’s scared to either lose their job or be mistreated,” he said. “And these are some of the baddest men on the planet. And they’re all shaking in their boots. That says something about how the UFC conducts its business.”
According to Johnson, there are many ways the UFC can punish its fighters without delivering the pink slip.
“There’s a lot of things that can happen. There’s a lot of ways that the UFC can screw you over without actually firing you,” he said. “They could just make you do a crazy amount of media obligations without paying you — because they don’t pay you for media obligations. They could give you unfavorable match-ups, not move you up the rankings, [or] just bench you for an undetermined amount of time and make some excuse. There’s nobody to hold them accountable for any of this; it’s just all them.”
Johnson admitted that there was a time he was worried he would receive poor treatment from the UFC or lose his job if he spoke out against the promotion. He planned to win the 155-pound championship and gain enough importance to be able to speak out without being severely punished. But after suffering multiple injuries, he couldn’t wait any longer.
“For a long time being in the organization, I’ve been scared to speak the truth,” he said. “I’ve been waiting. I’ve been waiting to get into a powerful position. Once I had a title, then maybe I could say what I wanted to say without them being able to cut me or mistreat me. But I’m not doing that anymore. I’m speaking the truth. I’m telling the truth about my situation.”
Johnson is used to speaking the truth. This is nothing new to him. Johnson grew up on a First Nations reservation in Burns Lake, B.C., and thus grew up with many different teachings, traditions and ceremonial activities. One of the teachings he still practices today is that he needs make the Earth “better for the next seven generations” before passing. From the day he was born, he has been a believer of standing up and fighting for the right things.
“I’m not scared of a fight. I’m not scared to challenge authority,” he said. “How could I be scared to challenge the UFC’s authority when I’m already actively challenging the Canadian government and the massive oil corporations that are trying to make billions of dollars off of putting pipelines through land that isn’t rightly theirs? I’m already actively fighting against that — why would I be afraid to fight against a corporation that’s only recourse is to fire me from one of my jobs? I got other jobs.
“Yes, I would be super, super hurt and disappointed and upset and angry if that’s what happened, if I did get fired. But I’m willing to risk it, because you gotta stand up for what’s right.”