Michael Johnson (fighter) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Michael Johnson |
|
|---|---|
Michael Johnson in 2018
|
|
| Born | Michael Julian Johnson June 4, 1986 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Nickname(s) | The Menace |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) |
| Division | Lightweight (2008–2017, 2019–present) Featherweight (2018–2019) |
| Reach | 73 in (185 cm) |
| Stance | Southpaw |
| Fighting out of | Lantana, Florida, U.S. |
| Team | Blackzilians/Sanford MMA |
| Rank | purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Gilbert Burns |
| Wrestling | NJCAA Wrestling |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 43 |
| Wins | 24 |
| By knockout | 10 |
| By submission | 2 |
| By decision | 12 |
| Losses | 19 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 9 |
| By decision | 7 |
Michael Julian Johnson (born June 4, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He is known for his exciting fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Johnson mainly competes in the Lightweight division. He has been a professional fighter since 2008.
Contents
About Michael Johnson
Michael Johnson was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He was the youngest of three children. Michael started fighting when he was 10 years old. He found that fighting helped him deal with strong feelings.
Michael was a great athlete in high school. He played three different sports at Marquette High School. He even got a scholarship to play football in college. Later, he switched to Meramec Community College. There, he became one of the best college wrestlers in the country.
Michael Johnson's Fighting Career
Starting Out in MMA
Before joining the UFC, Michael Johnson was a champion in other fighting leagues. He won the Midwest Fight League title in 2008. He also became the Xtreme Cage Fighting Champion in 2009. Michael trained at Springfield Fight Club. He also worked there as an assistant coach for mixed martial arts.
His Time on The Ultimate Fighter
Michael Johnson joined the UFC by appearing on a TV show called The Ultimate Fighter: Team GSP vs. Team Koscheck. He tried out for the show many times before he was finally accepted. He was very determined to get on the show.
His first fight on the show was against Pablo Garza. Michael won that fight by a unanimous decision. This win allowed him to move into the show's house.
During the team selection, both coaches, St-Pierre and Koscheck, wanted Michael on their team. St-Pierre used a clever trick to make sure he could pick Michael. Michael then fought Aaron Wilkinson and won by a submission move called a rear-naked choke.
Later, Michael fought Alex Caceres in the quarter-finals. He won that fight too, moving him closer to the finals. In the semi-finals, he faced Nam Phan. It was a very close fight, but Michael won by a split decision. This meant he made it to the final match of the show.
Fighting in the UFC
Michael Johnson made his official UFC debut on December 4, 2010. He fought Jonathan Brookins in the final match of The Ultimate Fighter 12. Michael fought well in the first round. However, he lost the fight by a unanimous decision. This made him the runner-up of the show.
Early UFC Fights
In 2011, Michael won his first UFC fight against Edward Faaloloto. He won by TKO in the first round. He then faced Paul Sass and lost by submission.
In 2012, Michael had a good year. He won against Shane Roller and Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision. He also had an exciting knockout win against Danny Castillo. This knockout earned him a Knockout of the Night bonus award. He ended 2012 with a loss to Myles Jury.
Continuing His Journey
In 2013, Michael lost to Reza Madadi by submission. But he quickly bounced back. He won against Joe Lauzon by unanimous decision. He also knocked out Gleison Tibau in the second round.
In 2014, Michael won another fight against Melvin Guillard. He won by unanimous decision.
Big Fights and Challenges
In 2015, Michael won against Edson Barboza by unanimous decision. He then had two tough losses. He lost a close split decision to Beneil Dariush. Many people thought Michael should have won that fight. He also lost to Nate Diaz by unanimous decision. Both fighters earned a Fight of the Night bonus for their exciting match.
In 2016, Michael had a big win against Dustin Poirier. He knocked Poirier out in the first round. This earned him a Performance of the Night bonus. Later that year, he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov by submission.
In 2017, Michael fought Justin Gaethje in a very exciting main event. He lost the fight by TKO in the second round. This fight was so good that it earned both fighters a Fight of the Night bonus. It was also named "Fight of the Year" by many sports outlets.
Moving Weight Classes and Recent Fights
In 2018, Michael tried fighting in the Featherweight division. He lost his first fight in that division to Darren Elkins. However, he then won two fights in a row. He beat Andre Fili by split decision and Artem Lobov by unanimous decision.
After these wins, Michael faced some tough challenges. He had a series of losses from 2019 to 2021. He lost to Josh Emmett by knockout, Stevie Ray by majority decision, Thiago Moisés by submission, and Clay Guida by unanimous decision.
In 2022, Michael returned to the Lightweight division and got back to winning. He knocked out Alan Patrick in the second round, which was his first knockout win since 2016. He then had another close fight against Jamie Mullarkey, losing by a split decision. This fight also earned him a Fight of the Night bonus. He finished 2022 with a unanimous decision win over Marc Diakiese.
In 2023, Michael lost to Carlos Diego Ferreira by knockout. However, he bounced back in 2024 with a unanimous decision win against Darrius Flowers. He also had an impressive knockout win against Ottman Azaitar in December 2024, earning another Performance of the Night award. His most recent fight was in July 2025, where he won by unanimous decision against Daniel Zellhuber.
Awards and Achievements
Michael Johnson has earned several awards and accomplishments in his mixed martial arts career:
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (Three times)
- Knockout of the Night (One time)
- Performance of the Night (Two times)
- He is tied for third most fights in UFC Lightweight history (27).
- He has the fourth most total time spent fighting in the UFC Lightweight division.
- He is tied for the most knockdowns in UFC Lightweight history (13).
- He has the third most significant strikes landed in UFC Lightweight history (1308).
- UFC.com Awards
- 2013: Ranked #6 Upset of the Year (for his win against Joe Lauzon)
- 2017: Fight of the Year (for his fight against Justin Gaethje)
- Other Championships
- XCF Lightweight Championship (One time)
- MFL Lightweight Championship (One time)
- Other Awards
- 2017 Fight of the Year (from Sherdog, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Bloody Elbow, Cageside Press)
- 2017 Round of the Year (Round 2 from Sherdog, Round 1 from MMAjunkie.com)
Images for kids
-
Michael Johnson in 2018
See also
In Spanish: Michael Johnson (peleador) para niños
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of male mixed martial artists
