Top lightweight Michael Johnson believes a win at UFC 205 could be enough to earn him a crack at that coveted golden strap.
After going on a two-fight skid in the UFC, Johnson propelled himself back into the business end of the 155 lb division by brutally knocking out streaking lightweight Dustin Poirier at UFC Hidalgo.
His prize for claiming such a massive scalp – a spot on the most highly anticipated card of the year against number-one contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, the seemingly invincible Dagestani who is unbeaten in 23 professional fights.
Michael Johnson sends Conor McGregor a message after brutally knocking out Dustin Poirier https://t.co/iwcoHVTTGu
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 18, 2016
Johnson knows that the odds are firmly stacked against him with Nurmagomedov at UFC 205, but he is confident that he can pull off the perfect performance to hand the two-time Combat Sambo World Champion his first loss, as he explained during a recent interview on SiriusXM.
“I know I can’t make any mistakes against Khabib. I know I’m going to have to be damn near flawless to beat a guy of his stature. That’s what I’m going in there to do on November 12.”
He’s well aware that he’ll have a distinct disadvantage in the grappling department against the Russian, but he believes that what he brings to the table in terms of striking should make this a stylistically very interesting fight.
“I’m going to fight definitely by far the hardest guy. His talent level is through the roof, but all that being said, we are going to prepare for a dog fight and we are both going to fight and look to get a victory.”
“He’s relentless with his takedowns. He lives and dies off them and he will just go for them. I think that’s one thing I’m going to have to face that I’ve never faced before in any of my opponents. His wrestling is like my striking – it’s what he lives and dies off of. He’s relentless in it and I’m relentless in my striking and we are going to have two of the best styles going up against each other.”
Johnson will be paying close attention to the lightweight title fight between champion Eddie Alvarez and challenger Conor McGregor which is set to headline the New York-based event. He feels that his fight against Nurmagomedov could be a title eliminator bout, but that is dependent on a few factors.
“I think (a win) will put me in the number one contender spot. If Tony Ferguson beats dos Anjos I’ve already beat Ferguson and he needs to get that rematch with me. Who knows? Who knows how that main event goes?”
He confessed that the ideal situation if he beats Nurmagomedov would be for Alvarez to successfully defend his belt against the Notorious. His reasoning for this is simple, it would likely make his route to the belt a little quicker as he believes McGregor would be immediately booked to complete his trilogy against Nate Diaz if he won the lightweight title.
“If Conor wins then I’m pretty sure Conor and Nate will fight for their trilogy for that title. That will be the fight to make if he wins. That said, I don’t think he is going to win so who knows where that puts me. Hopefully, it puts me in line for a title shot if Eddie gets the win.”
Catch up with the latest episode of Football Friday Live right here…
