Michael Johnson: The best striker in the division

[trblesome1]

Its not like he is saying it and scared to go out there and try to prove it

I mean he did just beat Melvin in a pure stand up fight, that is pretty damn impressive actually

 

[biscuitsbrah]

A: Your incredibly biased. Edson has had issues with wrestlers who fake takedowns and throw big leather. But has bested better strikers than Varner. (No offense to Varner he is very good)

B: Njokuani has only lost 1 stand up battle which was to Edson.

If you think Khabib beats them standing, go pet your unicorn.

I'm not sure we are talking about the same things. I think you are talkin about 'pure' striking while I am talking effective MMA striking. I guess I would have to agree with your statement about Edson being the better pure striker, but the fact of the matter is he got ktfo by Varner in a pure standup battle which would never happen to khabib.
Obviously khabib wouldn't stand with edson or njkuani, but you have to agree its possible khabib could stand with the majority of the division more than njkuani and barboza can especially since he's improving much more rapidly than either of those two (along with the threat of TD and explosive striking style)

 

[maksy]

Pettis say hello

 

[180bysummer]

Pre concussion Grant beats him up on the feet. Makdessi would also clean his clock. I'd love to see that match up.

Makdessi is a fine striker, but wayyy to passive as of late. He's a counter striker, which is also where Johnson excels. I favor Johnson's power and hand speed, and he's outstruck dangerous strikers, and has finished more talented fighters.

That said, Pettis is a thoroughly better striker. Out of the top 10, I would say Barboza (though his defense is a bit iffy), Cerrone and Diaz would give Johnson issues standing.

 

[MCS]

well, I've sort of agreed with his opinion of himself for a while. He'd kickbox Nate up, Gil would be tough, while Pettis is better. MJ's arguably the best boxer at LW, with good kickboxing to boot, but he's not a better all-around striker than Pettis, and then there are interesting fights with Cowboy & Edson.

regardless, these rankings are kinda silly. He's among the best and has improved a ton, BZ's was a really good fit for him. Would've hoped for Melvin to not wait for a counter that much, which made it a cautious affair for Johnson.

 

[Dontevenguess93]

I'm not sure we are talking about the same things. I think you are talkin about 'pure' striking while I am talking effective MMA striking. I guess I would have to agree with your statement about Edson being the better pure striker, but the fact of the matter is he got ktfo by Varner in a pure standup battle which would never happen to khabib.
Obviously khabib wouldn't stand with edson or njkuani, but you have to agree its possible khabib could stand with the majority of the division more than njkuani and barboza can especially since he's improving much more rapidly than either of those two (along with the threat of TD and explosive striking style)

There are honesty too many flaws in your argument. Varners fight with Barboza went the way it did because Varner took him down two or 3 times. (Not All stand up fight as your selective memory suggests) Varners takedowns were the reason for his success. Don't believe me? He said it himself.
Also, I'm not saying Khabib isn't great, I'm just saying be honest. As a striker? There is no reason to believe what you said about him being able to stand with the majority of the division, the only people he stood with are Tavares and Tibau who he won a very controversial decision over. I don't see the so called explosive striking but I do agree he's improving

 

[GodNumberSeven]

Holy shit you're an idiot.

If a fighter doesn't believe he's the best then what's the damn point!? Go away.

..... sorry for hurting your feelings mike.

 

[daDEE]

BEST boxing in the div??? Thats arguable but not far off. Alot of people will have trouble with his southpaw style.

 

[JustinvR]

besides Pettis, the best pure striker in the LW division would probably be Njokuani/Barboza(Barboza won the fight, but the fight was very close and you can argue that Njokuani won).

 

[BubbaH]

Somebody better let Anthony Pettis know so he'll stop posing. He might make Johnson mad.

 

[Dart Feld]

besides Pettis, the best pure striker in the LW division would probably be Njokuani/Barboza(Barboza won the fight, but the fight was very close and you can argue that Njokuani won).

I thought Pearson beat Barboza personally, it was a close fight. Barboza's matchups with strikers are usually very close.

We'll see if that changes when he faces Cerrone, personally I think Cerrone takes it clearly though it'll be competitive early.

 

[JustinvR]

I thought Pearson beat Barboza personally, it was a close fight. Barboza's matchups with strikers are usually very close.

We'll see if that changes when he faces Cerrone, personally I think Cerrone takes it clearly though it'll be competitive early.

The thing that kinda intrigues me is that Barboza had a really close fight with Njokuani, but Njokuani outstruck Cerrone when they fought(although Cerrone won the fight via submission). I'm not saying that MMAth is a good way of predicting fights, but yeah.
Anyways, we will see how the fight goes on hope it doesn't become boring.

 

[Redhawks100]

Pettis is far and away the best striker in the division
Eddie is easily 2nd

Eddie gets hit way too much to be the 2nd best striker. People seem to forget that defense plays a huge role in striking.

 

[UL]

The one and only man who called the Lauzon fight

 

[Dontevenguess93]

The thing that kinda intrigues me is that Barboza had a really close fight with Njokuani, but Njokuani outstruck Cerrone when they fought(although Cerrone won the fight via submission). I'm not saying that MMAth is a good way of predicting fights, but yeah.
Anyways, we will see how the fight goes on hope it doesn't become boring.

Not that I want to perpetuate excuses because Edson is not like that. But for the Njokuani fight he had a torn MCL in his knee and he fractured his hand on Njokuani's head in the first. Watch the first few minutes of the fight and you will see a marked difference when it happens.

I worked at the gym where he trained at in that time and he knew his knee was bad 3 weeks before. He threw no kicks in those last 3 weeks and even practiced fighting southpaw.

Pearson fight was close too though. Pearson had a great gameplan and executed to a T.