From Kevin Iole:
The first obstacle is getting down to the welterweight division’s 170-pound weight limit. Johnson, who is a broad-shouldered 6-foot-2, weighed 220 pounds when he began training for Yoshida.
He’s down to 190 now and plans to take advantage of the extra pound allowance fighters are given in non-title bouts and come in at 171 pounds.
“The only pressure I feel, honestly, is the pressure to make the weight,” Johnson said. “Once I’m on weight, I know everything else will take care of itself.”
Johnson has failed to make weight once before in his UFC career, coming in at 177.5lbs for his UFC 76 loss to Rich Clementi. He took the fight on short notice and one can only imagine how brutal that weight cut was. He lost to Clementi in a lackluster performance that showed clear signs of early fatigue and dehydration.
One also has to wonder how long Johnson will be able to remain a welterweight. He’s 25 and should continue to fill out his frame with muscle for the next few years. I expect Johnson to move up to middleweight at some point.
This also begs the question of whether his UFC 104 opponent, Yoshiyuki Yoshida, cuts any significant amount of weight at all and how big a size disadvantage he will have against Johnson come fight time.
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