Michael Johnson recently recapped his famous fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
‘The Menace’ is currently doing a victory tour after picking up another sensational win over Ottman Azaitar after previously putting Dustin Poirier to sleep in September 2016.
Mike Perry invited the long-time lightweight contender on his podcast and the two men talked about everything from Conor McGregor vs Logan Paul to crazy Las Vegas stories.
Naturally, Michael Johnson’s 2016 defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov came up, and the heavy-handed American reflected on his opponent telling him to ‘give up’ mid-fight.
- READ MORE: ‘He’s finished’… Khabib Nurmagomedov risks wrath of former opponent by telling him to retire
Michael Johnson had explicit response at UFC 205
Before Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to become the first dual-weight champion in company history at UFC 205 in November 2016, Johnson fought Nurmagomedov on the undercard.
‘The Eagle’, as he often did, dominated with his wrestling before ultimately scoring a third-round submission victory to improve his perfect record to 24-0.
Johnson always likes to point out he took that fight on very short notice.
“I fought mine on two weeks’ notice. Nobody even talks about that. I was doing a tour for the troops, and they gave me the call,” he said on the Overdogs Podcast.
Talk turned to the famous moment where Nurmagomedov was hammering away with ground and pound while imploring his opponent to quit.
“You have to give up,” he said. “I need to fight for the title. You know this. I have to fight for the title. You agree?”
Eight years later, Johnson has revealed that he absolutely did not agree with what his opponent was saying as he hit Nurmagomedov with an explicit two-word reaction and a backhand in an attempt to shut him up.
He said “I was like, ‘F*** you!’ Hit him with a backhand like, ‘I’m still in it! I can’t move but I’m in it!’.
“I wasn’t going to f***ing give up. He’s good. I went into that fight, all I thought about was his wrestling, his wrestling, his wrestling, his wrestling. So, I wasn’t thinking about myself and that was my mistake.
“You know, I just went in there kind of waiting for him to shoot. Trying to find my motions. I kind of crouched down and couldn’t really move around.
“Bro, he’s good and strong, he felt like a middleweight. That’s a problem. I couldn’t move, but he helped me get better. I went back to the gym and started working on that, so without that fight I wouldn’t be here.
“Here’s the thing, If I could’ve gone in there and got a knockout… I would have taken over everything.”
Michael Johnson names his toughest opponent
Johnson is better placed than most to name the greatest lightweight in UFC history.
The 38-year-old has been competing in MMA’s premier promotion since 2011.
During that time, he’s made the walk to the Octagon 30 times and traded blows with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje, and Edson Barboza.
Johnson didn’t hesitate when asked who gave him the toughest fight in September 2021.
“It’s gotta be Khabib,” he said interview with Helen Yee.
“It was rough. I took that fight on like two or three weeks’ notice, which people really don’t talk about, which is fine, but I just wasn’t that prepared to fight somebody of that caliber.
“I just saw the opportunity. I was like, ‘Hell, why not? It’s a big risk with a big reward’.
“Of course, I’m going to fight the best of the best in Madison Square Garden. That just intrigued me to fight it.
“It was definitely one of the toughest ones and I have learned a lot from that fight.”