Is what Michael Johnson achieved in the lightweight division remarkable considering he can make 145.

[Alanf7]

Mj is a great fighter, just inconsistent.

 

[truthisfreedom]

He's a good, not great fighter.

Kind of a limited skill-set, overall. Great hands, but tends to fold under pressure.

Always dangerous though.

Spot on.

Solid Fringe top 10 fighter. Amazing speed, good power.

Most likely will never make top 5.....the very definition of a gatekeeper.

 

[agibmxmma]

Michael Johnson weighed in at championship weight 145 without the 1 pound allowance without looking gaunt or as if he was dying. I think its fair to say that he probably should have been at 145 the whole time as he doesn't have a bigger frame than the champion in the division Max Holloway. At 155 MJ was able to defeat tony ferguson, danny castillo, joe lauzon, a geared up gleison tibau of which he KO'd, melvin guillard, edson barboza, dustin poirier and was able to put up good fights against nate diaz, gaethje and was able to wobble khabib. MJ will be the next 145pound champ, trust me on that!

Why do people think this is his first fight at 145? Or that many others have fought at 155 and went lower in weight.. long before the kid?

 

[agibmxmma]

...anyone do that yet?

Yeah like when Conor lost to the 125er..

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Does Johnson even have a winning record in UFC? I feel like he loses most of the time I seen him. He is a mid tier fighter, nothing more than that.

Hes an upper mid tier fighter with the potential to upset the top guys, but has a habit of lossing to guys he shouldnt

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Come on man, is this the first time you’ve seen someone drop down a weight class?


Nah

Exactly, lets she what he can do at 145 before any judgment is past

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

Spot on.

Solid Fringe top 10 fighter. Amazing speed, good power.

Most likely will never make top 5.....the very definition of a gatekeeper.

Gatekeepers dont hold wins over top talent.

 

[PAPERCLIP30]

Exactly, lets she what he can do at 145 before any judgment is past

Frankie Edgar won the belt AND THEN dropped down and then still looked smaller than everyone he fought.


!!!

 

[rjmbrd]

MJ is a guy who can fight successfully at 145 or 155.

At lightweight he dropped plenty of guys so we know his raw punching power was just fine for the division, and he was very quick. He was a reasonably small lightweight, but not undersized.

Looks like he shed some muscle and made featherweight without trouble, but he will give up that speed advantage he previously had moving down, and we have to see how his power translates with less muscle and presumably a more substantial water cut.

 

[rjmbrd]

Frankie Edgar won the belt AND THEN dropped down and then still looked smaller than everyone he fought.


!!!

Lets put this in context. He won the belt from BJ, then defended it against Maynard, both guys who go on to make featherweight without trouble.

Look at his run at lightweight, virtually all those guys he fought are very small by modern standards.

 

[WaylonMercy5150]

Gatekeepers dont hold wins over top talent.

He negates those wins with loses over bottom talent.

 

[Sjb1888]

to be fair MJ can make 145 currently and probably should have been there his whole career, conor can't make 145 anymore

Says you... ?

Conor's easiest cut to 145 was his last one against Aldo, he'd make the weight no problem.

Only thing stopping him is a lack of incentive, who knows maybe if max gets a few more wins he could be enticed back, unlikely though.

 

[Jarvan]

to be fair MJ can make 145 currently and probably should have been there his whole career, conor can't make 145 anymore

Don't know which is more dangerous, Conor fighting Khabib or trying to make 145

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Johnson is one of those guys that can beat anyone but also lose to anyone in any given night.

That and his level of violence in the cage make him pretty fun to watch.

 

[HwoarangStyle]

Fuck yeah!!! I'm a fan of MJ, he always bring it.

The guy has been a top 10 - 15 since forever in the toughest division in the sport. That in itself is already a great achievement. Look at some of the names he beat: Ferguson, Barboza, Tibau, Poirier, Lauzon, Guillard ....

Now imagine if he goes on a winning streak at FW and gets that belt? For me it would cement an already great career.

Good post.



When its spelled out like that its hard to deny hes done some pretty respectable shit in the UFC.

 

[Venom]

to be fair MJ can make 145 currently and probably should have been there his whole career, conor can't make 145 anymore

Conor can still make 145 what are you talking about.

 

[Venom]

Yeah tho Michael Johnson has an excellent resume considering he is a tad undersized. But he's still 5'10" with decent reach. It's not like when Aldo considered moving to LW at 5'7" and same weight as Conor.

 

[BluntForceTrama]

So what does MJ walk around at?

 

[yougetKTFO]

Edgar is a true 145er and accomplished more IMO. Mj is good but not top3

 

[Defeat Unknown]

Looking forward to seeing how he does. Holloway could use some fresh names as he cleared out the division before he even got the belt. Hope MJ does well.