Michael Johnson News

Tom Taylor - May 7, 2017

Top-10 UFC lightweight Michael Johnson has not been seen in the Octagon since November of 2016, when he succumbed to a third-round submission dealt by undefeated Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov. This, however, is not for lack of trying. Having recovered from his loss to Nurmagomedov, Johnson has been eager for a return to the cage for some time. Unfortunately, he’s had a very difficult time finding a willing dance partner. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Johnson explained that he believes this is because many of the UFC’s top lightweights are reluctant to take tough fights.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

Shortly after his submission loss to light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier in the main event of UFC 210, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson announced his plans to retire from mixed martial arts. Given that Rumble remained in the prime of his career, this news came as a definite surprise to pretty much everyone. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio, Rumble’s long-time teammate Michael Johnson weighed in on this surprising retirement from MMA.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

The lightweight division is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC. That said, things are a little chaotic in the division at the moment, as champ Conor McGregor is pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov has been sidelined with illness and religious obligations, and the fan favorite Nate Diaz has no plans to fight. On Wednesday’s edition of BJ Penn Radio, dangerous lightweight contender Michael Johnson weighed in on the situation at lightweight – particularly on the absences of McGregor and Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - May 4, 2017

Back in May of 2012, long-time lightweight contender Michael Johnson scored an impressive decision defeat over the highly regarded Tony Ferguson. Almost five years later, when Ferguson found himself without an opponent after Khabib Nurmagomedov’s last-minute withdrawal from UFC 209, Johnson offered him a shot at revenge. Unfortunately, Ferguson was unwilling to accept this fight with the dangerous Johnson on such short notice, and ultimately went without a fight.

bjpenndotcom - March 4, 2017

Friday afternoon, unfortunate news surfaced that prior to his co-main event interim lightweight title fight with Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov had been taken to the hospital by his team.

bjpenndotcom - November 24, 2016

It’s no secret that the lightweight division is one of the UFC’s most exciting divisions. The top 5 of the UFC’s lightweight division according to the promotions official rankings are as follows: Champion – Conor McGregor #1 Khabib Nurmagomedov #2 Tony Ferguson #3 Eddie Alvarez #4 Rafael dos Anjos #5 Nate Diaz

Tom Taylor - November 22, 2016

Last Saturday, on the main card of UFC Fight Night 100, streaking welterweight Kamaru Usman dominated Warlley Alves to a lopsided, unanimous decision win. It was one of the best wins of his already impressive career. In the moments after his defeat of Alves, Usman sought to catapult himself up the welterweight rankings with a callout of the streaking Demian Maia. Unfortunately for him, Maia wasn’t particularly interested in this callout. Given that he holds the welterweight division’s number three spot, while Usman is not yet ranked, that’s not particularly surprising.

Russell Ess - November 14, 2016

Michael Johnson is going back to the drawing board following his submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 205 over the weekend. Johnson was looking to climb his way up the lightweight rankings following his first round KO over Dustin Poirier at UFC Fight Night 94 back in September. However, current #2 UFC ranked lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov had plans of his own.

bjpenndotcom - November 10, 2016

With just days to go until UFC 205, the UFC’s historical inaugural event in New York, which will be hosted at the Madison Square Garden, the anticipation among fans for the card is at an all-time high. While the card will play host to three title fights, fans have continued to talk about the preliminary card fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Michael Johnson, where Nurmagomedov could potentially continue his unbeaten streak and secure himself a lightweight title shot. On the other hand, for Johnson, the fight very well could aid him in cracking the lightweight top 5 should he beat the #2 ranked Nurmagomedov.

Tom Taylor - September 19, 2016

This year, Nate Diaz has made millions of dollars of the course of two welterweight bouts with Irish Superstar Conor McGregor. Of course, Diaz didn’t just stumble into these lucrative bouts. He demanded them in a profanity-riddled diatribe after a 2015 decision victory over Michael Johnson. This past weekend, Johnson returned to the win column with a beautiful knockout win over the streaking Dustin Poirier. On the heels of this win, Johnson appeared on The MMA Hour to weigh in on the victory, the state of his career, and perhaps most interestingly, the massive success Diaz achieved after their fight.

Tom Taylor - September 18, 2016

Last night, in the main event of UFC Fight Night 94, Michael Johnson scored big with a beautiful, first-round knockout of the streaking Dustin Poirier.

Tom Taylor - September 18, 2016

Last night, the UFC touched down in the small border town of Hidalgo, Texas with UFC Fight Night 94. In the evening’s main event, former featherweight contender Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier looked to improve to 5-0 since returning to lightweight. His opportunity to do so came against long-time lightweight contender Michael “The Menace” Johnson, who entered the bout with back-to-back losses to Nate Diaz and Beneil Dariush in his wake. Though Johnson was considered a slight underdog by oddsmakers in advance of the fight, he ultimately came out in the first round, flattening his streaking foe with a blistering two-punch salvo, and burying him with ground and pound. The end came at the 1:35 mark of the first frame, making it the second fastest win of the night.

bjpenndotcom - September 17, 2016

Saturday night in Hidalgo, Texas, #7 ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier, and #10 ranked lightweight Michael Johnson will step into the Octagon to clash in the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night: Hidalgo’. The fight is a pivotal one for both men. Poirier will enter the bout on a 4-fight win streak that has seen him take the lightweight division by storm. After being TKOd by Conor McGregor on the main card of UFC 178, Poirier made the move to lightweight. Since making the move he has been on a tear, most recently defeating Bobby Green via 1st round KO.

Russell Ess - September 15, 2016