Johnson: "Puryear will go into the UFC Hall of Fame without a belt."

Famed American mixed martial arts veteran Demetrious Johnson has expressed confidence that former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Puryear will get a place in the promotion's Hall of Fame despite never winning a full belt.

"Will Puryear get into the UFC Hall of Fame without a title? Absolutely. I said this to Juraya Faber back in the day: 'You're probably never going to be a UFC champion, but you're still going to be one of the biggest stars in MMA.' The same goes for Dustin Puryear.

He probably won't touch gold anymore, but he's earned a lot more than a lot of champions, and he'll have his own brand because he's always fought courageously. I think he can sleep well at night knowing that," Johnson said on The MMA Hour show.

Recall that last weekend, Puryear lost early to Islam Makhachev.