Does Michael Johnson (17-13) bounce back or does he move one step closer to a .500 record?

[Thesnake101]

Back when I first got into the sport, at the beginning of 2014 or so, I remember watching MJ put on a masterful performance against Barboza and thought to myself "This guy's a beast!" since then though, he's only gotten his hand raised once. Yes, he did get robbed against Dariush, and he hasn't taken easy fights, but man, it feels as though he fell off a cliff performance wise.

He's still fast and powerful, but he seems to revert into brawling as soon as his opponent touches him up, ditching his kicks in favor of an exchange in the pocket of which he usually gets the worst off. His grappling is still as mediocre as it has ever been, and his fight IQ is truly that of a palsy patient.

I'm still a big fan though, and I think he'll put Fili down in the second, but I can't count anyone out against Johnson anymore, which is sad imo.

 

[BjPenn2017]

Johnson is more mental imo if I remember correctly way back on TUF.he used to be a guy with all the talent who would choke in alot of fights and end up losing. He wound up getting over it but could be one of those old habits kind of things.

He's never been known for his fight IQ but he can fight a smart fight and follow a gameplan if he wants, seems like he chooses not to most of the time.

 

[Sapphorous]

30 fights, lost half of em. Hasn’t killed a motherfucka yet

 

[MMAProfessional]

Back when I first got into the sport, at the beginning of 2014 or so, I remember watching MJ put on a masterful performance against Barboza and thought to myself "This guy's a beast!" since then though, he's only gotten his hand raised once. Yes, he did get robbed against Dariush, and he hasn't taken easy fights, but man, it feels as though he fell off a cliff performance wise.

He's still fast and powerful, but he seems to revert into brawling as soon as his opponent touches him up, ditching his kicks in favor of an exchange in the pocket of which he usually gets the worst off. His grappling is still as mediocre as it has ever been, and his fight IQ is truly that of a palsy patient.

I'm still a big fan though, and I think he'll put Fili down in the second, but I can't count anyone out against Johnson anymore, which is sad imo.

I remember watching him off TUF and he looked promising. Crazy that he's managed to turn into a 50 percent fighter barely winning fights. He's quick and can mix it up with his hand for moments but makes big mistakes that cost him every fight.

 

[Pierced7681]

Didn’t he beat Ferg?

 

[ChumpyKiwi]

30 fights, lost half of em. Hasn’t killed a motherfucka yet

LOL great line by Lee. Became a fan of his at that moment

 

[Thesnake101]

I remember watching him off TUF and he looked promising. Crazy that he's managed to turn into a 50 percent fighter barely winning fights. He's quick and can mix it up with his hand for moments but makes big mistakes that cost him every fight.

He seems to be such a streaky guy.

 

[SammyG420]

I don't understand guys like him that seem so talented have so many losses. Like John Dodson, Jorge Masvidal and Anthony Smith

 

[JudasAnthony]

Didn’t he beat Ferg?

as well as knocking out Dustin In the first round

 

[Thesnake101]

Didn’t he beat Ferg?

as well as knocking out Dustin In the first round

Yes sireé, which makes it all the more depressing to see him go through such a rough stretch.

 

[Gabe]

He can win. Very hit and miss these days though.

 

[Blond]

He cant deal with prolonged grappling exchanges. There have been quite a lot of guys with similar weakness (Thiago Alves, Swanson, Daley, Rumble etc.) and unfortunately none of them have been able to overcome that problem. He might not be done, but he'll continue losing fights on regular basis.

 

[MalikAndreHodge]

Hia mental game get shot so easily.

 

[It Just Is]

Dude can fight, but can't really put it all together at the elite level for too long. Thing is, is that if a strong grappler gets passed his TDD, he has nothing off his back, it's like a Yair kinda thing, but Yair has time on his side to round out a little (will he, who knows), Johnson does not. At the top of the pack, it's just not good enough.

His defensive grappling is just ok, but what happens if he can't stop the shot? At the top you cannot have such a glaring weakness. Even past champions who gone on long streaks had answers for grapplers. Either they were one and knew enough reversals and escapes, or they have sufficient enough ground game to at least stave off a shutout or advancement off their backs.

 

[Kenny Powerth]

Idk whose going to win, but either way this fight has fireworks written all over it! Great co-main for a free card.



These last few weeks have been rough, I’m spoiled by having fights every weekend. I can’t wait! The 25th can’t come soon enough

 

[Deleted member 549255]

MJ reminds me of Guillard...The potential is there just can’t put it together

 

[JayE]

He's horrible off of his back once he gets taken down. His actual takedown defense (when paired with his good footwork), is actually pretty good, but he shuts down from the bottom. He should be a very clear favourite to beat Fili, though, and his run of poor form has given him good value.

 

[DLX]

The answer is tune ups. You keep taking hard ass fights and your record won't look good.

 

[tdluxon]

He’s taken a lot of hard fights. His last 4 prior to Elkins are all top shelf opponents

 

[Paynebringer]

Back when I first got into the sport, at the beginning of 2014 or so, I remember watching MJ put on a masterful performance against Barboza and thought to myself "This guy's a beast!" since then though, he's only gotten his hand raised once. Yes, he did get robbed against Dariush, and he hasn't taken easy fights, but man, it feels as though he fell off a cliff performance wise.

He's still fast and powerful, but he seems to revert into brawling as soon as his opponent touches him up, ditching his kicks in favor of an exchange in the pocket of which he usually gets the worst off. His grappling is still as mediocre as it has ever been, and his fight IQ is truly that of a palsy patient.

I'm still a big fan though, and I think he'll put Fili down in the second, but I can't count anyone out against Johnson anymore, which is sad imo.

I've watched MJ come up and thought he would've shinned a whole lot more, he's built a good resume on TUF fights where he had good winz or just sh!t in the cage. I like this Fili kid but I think Johnson is tougher fought tougher iron and gets it done Saturday night...