Demetrious Johnson confirms ‘negotiations have begun’ to fight TJ Dillashaw as the co-main event of #UFC226: Cormier vs Miocic. pic.twitter.com/xEcrsiQV4a

— Justin Golightly (@SecretMovesMMA) February 3, 2018

Already the rest of this year feels like just a build-up to the absolutely gigantic fight between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier at UFC 226. It’s hard to imagine a bigger spectacle coming in 2018, but a fight just as incredible has been teased long before that clash was announced. Demetrious Johnson and TJ Dillashaw are expected to throw down this year, but other than Dillashaw training, we’ve only been going on wishful thinking. We reported that talks have begun to have the two as the co-main event at UFC 226, now the ‘Mighty One’ himself has confirmed it on his Twitch stream.

“It’s the superfight everyone wants. I think TJ [Dillashaw] and I are both on board. We just want to make sure it’s on a stacked card. We want to make sure we can benefit from a good pay-per-view buy. I think I deserve it and I think he deserves it. I’d rather have somebody else [be the] main event, who is going to bring in way more PPVs. In my opinion, that’s held up the fight on my end.”

“I’ve seen guys jump on [stacked] PPV cards and make $1.5 million, fighting an inferior opponent than who I’m about to fight. Me and TJ could fight on a smaller card and pull 275,000 buys, get an extra check for $75,000. My management told me, ‘You know what, we’ll hold out for a big event.’ A lot of media and fans think that’s a way of turning down fights or ducking someone, but that’s a way of being a smart businessman and getting the most money you can get.” — Demetrious Johnson speaking to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.

The last thing Demetrious Johnson said about the fight is that he was holding out for a big card deserving of both him and TJ Dillashaw. Well, it looks like he got it. The insanely high-level fight between the UFC flyweight champion and the UFC bantamweight champ is in negotiations for that co-main event slot.

If this goes down, there is no question the historic event will be topped off with four of the very best MMA fighters on the planet. Two gold straps will be on the line, with two men attempting to become simultaneous two-weight champions.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/3/2018.