At UFC Tampa on Saturday, 15-year veteran Michael Johnson scored one of the most vicious KOs of the year when he starched Ottman Azaitar in the second round of their featured prelim bout.
Michael Johnson stands as one of the longest-tenured fighters still competing in the UFC, holding wins over the likes of Edson Barboza and Dustin Poirier.
Ottman Azaitar on the other hand was looking to turn the corner on an unfortunate past few years having suffered the first two losses of his career in his last two outings.
The ‘Bulldozer’ is likely most well known for his antics during the UFC 257 fight week, as his scheduled fight against Matt Frevola was canceled and he was suspended after violating COVID-19 protocols after he had a teammate sneak a suitcase into his fighter hotel room.
Michael Johnson viciously knocks Ottman Azaitar out in round two
Despite being 38 years old, ‘The Menace’ still continues to hold his own near the top of the UFC lightweight division, and he returned to winning ways in the UFC Tampa featured prelim bout.
After a relatively close round one where Johnson seemed to be heading towards trouble, he began to feel his way into the fight towards the end of the round.
Coming out into round two, the veteran likely knew that the long the fight went on, the bigger advantage he had over the power puncher, Azaitar.
However, two minutes into the second round, Johnson landed a huge counter overhand right, instantly sleeping Azaitar with him worryingly faceplanting the floor.
The referee couldn’t step in quickly enough and Johnson made sure to finish the fight with a few huge punches to the already out-cold 34-year-old Morrocan.
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Michael Johnson calls out Michael Chandler and then changes his mind
Johnson will likely find himself $50,000 richer after his incredible knockout, with him having only won four performance-based bonuses previously.
Despite being 38 years old and having recently gone on an unfortunate trend of winning one and then losing one, ‘The Menace’ has no plans to call it a day on his career.
Although he didn’t come with a specific callout following his incredible KO over Azaitar, he did mention a few ranked lightweights that he wouldn’t mind sharing the Octagon with.
“This is my promotion, I don’t care where I am on the card, I’ve been in this business for 15 years, I’ve seen everything, I am the UFC when it comes down to really in here fighting,” he said in his Octagon interview.
“I’m 38 and I’m not stopping any time soon. I’m getting right back to the top baby. I’ve always got to get on the mic and call out some people. I’ve got a teammate that I wanted to call out, Bobby Green, Drew Dober.
“I was gonna call Michael Chandler out because he’s always yelling his mouth but he’s my guy so I’m not gonna mess with him,” he continued.