Scary thought: Michael Johnson beat poirier and almost gaethje back in 2016-2017

[Versez]

The man back then was a dog. So much potential , but now his record is almost as many loss as he have wins … one of the worst potential never reached his peak ?

 

[Laheys'Liquorland]

So much potential. But never got there.

 

[Franklin U.]

meh- it is what is.
Sometimes you catch fighters at the right time. In totality, in hindsight , MJ is what his record suggests.

You can point to a lot of fighters , deep dive on records and say similar things.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

It's Michael Johnson. He'd KO a world class fighter then lose a scuffle in the queue at his local McDonald's on the way home.

 

[Juicy Jon]

Also beat T Ferguson back in 2012.

3 of the best lightweights of that generation lost/almost lost to this guy.

Meanwhile Miles Jury dominated prime MJ in-between all of that.

How overrated was the LW division?

 

[Elvis.]

He’s one of those fighters like Manhoef who’s way better offensively than they are defensively. Perfectly capable of winning or losing any fight they’re involved in .
Exciting to watch , not good to gamble on

 

[BigGucciSosa]

Got robbed against Beneil too

 

[Hostile1]

Pretty sure Usman said he sparked him in the gym, too. Some people have dynamite in their gloves and can beat anyone at any time if given the chance.

 

[haj02]

Most bizarre record ever, can lose or beat anyone on any given night.

 

[Marko Polo]

Most bizarre record ever, can lose or beat anyone on any given night.

This is what they mean when they say fighting is all mental. Imagine you’re having a terrible day and you have to go and fight in front of millions

 

[Doctor Grudge]

He beat a lot of good fighters. One of his losses was a split to Dariush as well.

Did not realize he nearly has a 50-50 record.

 

[HaulParris]

He’s one of those fighters like Manhoef who’s way better offensively than they are defensively. Perfectly capable of winning or losing any fight they’re involved in .
Exciting to watch , not good to gamble on

This is what they mean when they say fighting is all mental. Imagine you’re having a terrible day and you have to go and fight in front of millions

He's a front-runner, and while Hooft certainly helped him develop his stand-up (compared to being much more of a one-dimensional wrestler on TUF), Hooft also hindered Johnson's overall development. There is no Plan B with Hooft, no room for error or doubt or failure. The Blackzillians lived and died by the blitz - Vitor, Johnson, Rumble (R.I.P.) either overwhelmed you early, or if that didn't work, would abandon all strategy, brawl wildly and/or fight to their opponent's strengths instead of staying composed, and wilt.

 

[Uke]

It's Michael Johnson. He'd KO a world class fighter then lose a scuffle in the queue at his local McDonald's on the way home.

Or waffle house

 

[mkt]

Also beat T Ferguson back in 2012.

3 of the best lightweights of that generation lost/almost lost to this guy.

Meanwhile Miles Jury dominated prime MJ in-between all of that.

How overrated was the LW division?

Not overrrated--just a lot of "styles make fights" and "who's the better fighter tonight?" match-ups. Nate Diaz also beat MJ and shut down any hopes he had of a title shot. Most everyone thought MJ's hands were too fast and Nate's only chance was a submission...but Nate stood with him and won.

 

[Lawrence]

He’s one of those fighters like Manhoef who’s way better offensively than they are defensively. Perfectly capable of winning or losing any fight they’re involved in .
Exciting to watch , not good to gamble on

I feel the same way.

If MJ is on the card, I want to watch it.

The guy has given us great scraps for a long damn time.

I don't get mad when a fun performer loses a wild battle.

His signature wins speak for themselves, and the number of ELITES he has vanquished tells us it's not a fluke. He is that good. Period.

 

[mkt]

He's a front-runner, and while Hooft certainly helped him develop his stand-up (compared to being much more of a one-dimensional wrestler on TUF), Hooft also hindered Johnson's overall development. There is no Plan B with Hooft, no room for error or doubt or failure. The Blackzillians lived and died by the blitz - Vitor, Johnson, Rumble (R.I.P.) either overwhelmed you early, or if that didn't work, would abandon all strategy, brawl wildly and/or fight to their opponent's strengths instead of staying composed, and wilt.

I don't think that was true as much for Rumble. He beat Phil Davis and Arlovksi in more measured fights that went to a decision. If he didn't get an early KO (which he often did), he didn't usually panic unless he ended up on the ground. Vitor-Rumble was an odd fight because the ref kept standing them up almost instantly after Rumble's TDs. I think Rumble wanted to wear down Vitor (who was even more of a front-runner) but he got frustrated with the ref. It was similar to Rumble-Koscheck where Rumble was doing well until the eye poke (which Kos seemed to milk). Rumble looked guilty/confused afterwards and his gameplan fell apart. But normally he kept his composure pretty well in kickboxing type fights.

MJ might be similar to Rumble in some ways. When he can't outbox his opponent (like Nate Diaz for whatever reason) or gets taken down too much, his gameplan and confidence go out the window.

 

[Harlekin]

Beat Ferguson early on

Beat Lauzon, Tibau, Guillard, Barboza in a row
Super close fight with Dariush after that.
Looked good early on against Diaz, but Diaz figured him out.
Then beat Poirier
Looked good against Gaethje

Fastest left hand in the house, a bit skinny and never used his wrestling base much.
If he just would threaten with the takedown once in a while... and work on his submission defense

 

[mkt]

He beat a lot of good fighters. One of his losses was a split to Dariush as well.

Did not realize he nearly has a 50-50 record.

He also beat a prime Barboza, which is pretty impressive. Most guys had to outwrestle him (Khabib, Kevin Lee) or get a submission (Ferguson) to win. Of course Donald Cerrone somehow knocked down and stunned Barboza with a jab then submited him...so anything can happen in MMA.

 

[CasualBot]

Fight of the night against Diaz as well,
and Diaz nearly finished the current WW champ.

Sometimes... it's only a difference in coaching.

All these guys are animals, when they're on.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Pretty sure Usman said he sparked him in the gym, too. Some people have dynamite in their gloves and can beat anyone at any time if given the chance.

There are some insane sparring videos from ATT involving Michael Johnson. I believe there are a few between him and Chandler amongst them.