Michael Johnson News

Josh Evanoff - January 13, 2023

UFC lightweight contender Michael Johnson is eyeing a rematch with Tony Ferguson next. ‘The Menace’ has been out of action since his clash with Marc Diakiese last month. In that outing, Johnson used his speed to outpoint the Brit en route to a unanimous decision victory. That win was the second in the lightweight’s last three outings, as he previously knocked out Alan Patrick that May.

Adam Martin - November 29, 2020

Veteran UFC lightweight Clay Guida has announced that he will be competing on Super Bowl weekend in a fight against Michael Johnson. Guida took to his Instagram to make the announcement that he will be taking on Johnson in a fight that could very well see both men fighting for their spots on the UFC roster. Although Guida and Johnson have been mainstays in the Octagon for the past decade and more, they have both struggled as of late. This is a huge fight for both men as they will look to avoid being released and keep their spot on the roster.

Adam Martin - April 29, 2020

Veteran UFC lightweight Michael Johnson is among the new fighters who have been added to the upcoming cards on May 13 and May 16 in Jacksonville, Florida. Two weeks ago, UFC president Dana White revealed the promotion’s plan to go ahead with three cards on May 9, 13, and 16 in Jacksonville. The UFC has been trying for weeks to get its show back on the road despite the coronavirus pandemic, and very soon the Octagon will touch down in sunny Florida. Since the cards were announced, a number of new fights have been trickling out in the media, and now we have some more for both cards.

Natasha Hooper - April 16, 2020

Today marks the birthday of one of the UFC’s most celebrated fighters, Nate Diaz. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 35-year old is no doubt having a quiet celebration in lockdown. To honor the ‘Stockton slapper’, we have compiled his top five fights to celebrate his birthday in ultimate BJPenn.com style! Donald Cerrone The UFC veterans collided in the co-main event of UFC 141 in 2011. The fighters vented their frustration in an all-out war, but the bad blood started long before they entered the Octagon. Diaz previously slapped his opponent’s hand when Cerrone attempted to introduce himself. He also knocked the “Cowboy’s” hat off his head during a press conference.

Tom Taylor - March 31, 2019

On Saturday night, on the main card of UFC Philadelphia, former lightweight contender Michael Johnson partook in his latest featherweight bout, taking on the dangerous Josh Emmett. Unfortunately for Johnson and his fans, this fight did not go as planned, as he found himself on the receiving end of a 2019 Knockout of the Year contender late in the third round.

Chris Taylor - March 30, 2019

A featherweight bout between Josh Emmett and Michael Johnson took place during tonight’s UFC Philadelphia main card on ESPN. Josh Emmett (13-2 MMA) enters tonight’s fight looking to rebound, this after suffering a knockout loss to Jeremey Stephens in his most recent appearance in February of 2018.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2018

There are not a lot of featherweights out there who are openly calling for a fight with dangerous Russian contender Zabit Magomedsharipov. Michael Johnson, however, is all for the matchup.

Christopher Taylor - October 28, 2018

Michael Johnson defeated Artem Lobov in the co-headliner of last night’s UFC Fight Night 138 event in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. “The Menace” was able to utilize his lightning-quick jab to outpoint “The Russian Hammer” for the better part of fifteen minutes.

Chris Taylor - October 27, 2018

In the co-headliner of tonight’s UFC Moncton event, featherweights Artem Lobov and Michael Johnson collided in hopes of moving up the 145-pound ranks. “The Russian Hammer” was initially slated to face Khabib Nurmagomedov’s teammate Zubaira Tukhugov (18-4 MMA) at UFC Moncton. However, the promotion pulled Tukhugov off of the fight card shortly following the Russians involvement in UFC 229’s now infamous post fight brawl.

Cole Shelton - October 26, 2018

At UFC Fight Night 138 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, Michael Johnson is set to take on Artem Lobov in the co-main event. Johnson took the fight on short-notice and missed weight by a pound weighing in at 147 pounds. Michael Johnson is coming off of a win in his second featherweight fight. Prior to that, he suffered three losses in a row to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Justin Gaethje and Darren Elkins. At lightweight, Johnson proved he was a legitimate title contender and had his toughest test at UFC 205 when he would take on undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - October 26, 2018

Originally, Conor McGregor training partner Artem Lobov was supposed to battle Khabib Nurmagomedov training partner Zubaira Tukhugov in the co-main event of tomorrow night’s UFC Moncton card. After Tukhugov got involved in the infamous UFC 229 post-fight brawl, however, he was pulled from his fight with Lobov. From there, the UFC began a frantic search to find a short-notice replacement opponent for Artem Lobov. They ultimately landed on former lightweight contender Michael Johnson, who recently picked up a close decision win over Andre Fili in his second featherweight fight.

Chris Taylor - October 14, 2018

UFC featherweight Artem Lobov (13-14-1 MMA) will still be fighting later this month at UFC Fight Night 138 event in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. According to a report from “The Mac Life“, Artem Lobov will now be fighting veteran Michael Johnson at the October 27 event.

Tom Taylor - January 7, 2018

On January 14, the UFC will return to St. Louis, Missouri, with a Fight Night card that seems to possess all the elements of a Card of the Year contender. One of the most compelling features of this card is the featherweight debut of long-time lightweight contender Michael Johnson. The St. Louis native will make his debut in the division opposite surging contender Darren “The Damage” Elkins on the event’s undercard. While Johnson is unsurprisingly very excited about a fresh start in the UFC featherweight division, he’s not thrilled about his position on the card. As one of the most consistently exciting fighters out there, and a St. Louis native, he believes he has claim to the main or at least co-main event spot.

Justin Golightly - January 5, 2018

When Michael Johnson told everyone back in September that he was moving down to featherweight, needless to say it was a shock. However, Johnson assured everyone that this was the plan all along. Although, a top 10 lightweight coming down to featherweight is a tough guy to get a fight for. Michael Johnson originally called out Jose Aldo, then Cub Swanson and others with no luck. Finally, he is booked against 10th-ranked featherweight Darren Elkins for next Sunday. According to the man himself, he hasn’t been 145-pounds since he was 13-years old. “I played football in my freshmen year of college and I was weighing close to 200-pounds there. So, my weight has been fluctuating up and down a lot. The last time I was 145-pounds I was 13. I wrestled 145 during my freshmen year at high school. I’m all in on this weight class and this weight right now. I want to get up to that title and take that title away from Max [Holloway] or Frankie [Edgar] or whoever has it at that point. Then maybe I’ll think about coming back up to 155 to hold two of them, but for now, my focus is on 145-pounds.”

Tom Taylor - November 9, 2017

Earlier this year, we learned that long-time UFC lightweight contender Michael Johnson planned to drop down to the stacked UFC featherweight division. In the wake of this news, Johnson publicly derided his new featherweight peers, as he had an extremely difficult time finding a willing dance partner for his divisional debut. “What can I say lad I’m bessed” (face) lol nah this is my reaction to my first featherweight choices getting booked! “Ain’t no thang, who wants it?” #teammenace #whowantsin #faces #reaction #weighins #sowhat #featherweight #lightweight #fights #ufc#boxing

Tom Taylor - October 2, 2017

Last month, long-time UFC lightweight contender Michael Johnson announced his intention to drop to the 145-pound featherweight division, where he hoped to find a fresh start. After sharing this news, Johnson began angling for a fight with former UFC featherweight champion and bona fide MMA great Jose Aldo. Unfortunately for him, Aldo was then linked to a potential rematch with Ricardo Lamas.

Justin Golightly - September 6, 2017

Back on Friday, Michael Johnson told fans and media at the UFC Rotterdam Q & A that he was going to move to featherweight. If that news wasn’t unexpected enough, he told everyone that the first fight he wants for his debut at the weight was none other than Jose Aldo. He’s opened up more about the move since then and it turns out it was always his plan. Not only that, but this move and potential fight could possibly come before the end of this year. “I was looking toward December, and November got brought up, so we’ll have to see. We’ll have to see everybody’s schedules and see where they can fit me in. [If I can’t fight Jose Aldo, I want] the next toughest guy in line. I think that’s maybe detrimental to my career, maybe hurts it a little bit that I always go for the toughest fight. But my first fight at 145, Aldo is a former champ, he’s one of the best in the world – always been. So, that’s one guy that I would love to fight. I’m not in this sport to fight the guy that’s OK. I want the toughest guy. I want everybody that says he can’t be beat.”

Justin Golightly - September 1, 2017

Aside from his first round knockout of Dustin Poirier, Michael Johnson hasn’t had a good track record as of late. Despite only having one win in his last five fights, it’s not like Johnson is a slouch. In his 17 UFC fights at lightweight, he’s beaten the likes of Tony Ferguson, Edson Barboza and Joe Lauzon. However, he thinks this recent run may be corrected with an adjustment, something he just dropped out of left field at a public Q & A. Michael Johnson wants to cut down to featherweight and he isn’t even thinking about a warm-up fight. He challenged none other than Jose Aldo for his 145-pound debut. https://twitter.com/MMA_Jim/status/903647322223112193