Michael Johnson is one of MMA’s best lightweight fighters when he performs at his peak.
‘The Menace’ boasts high-profile wins over Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, and Edson Barboza.
Michael Johnson also pushed Justin Gaethje to the brink of defeat in his July 2017 Fight of the Year UFC debut.
However, a 23-19 record shows that the 39-year-old hasn’t lived up to his superstar potential.
Michael Johnson KO’d fighter who ‘beat’ Khabib Nurmagomedov
Khabib Nurmagomedov endured the toughest night of his UFC career at UFC 148 in July 2012.
‘The Eagle’ entered as the underdog against Gleison Tibau, who managed to stop all 13 of Nurmagomedov’s takedown attempts, land one of his own, and outstrike him to seemingly do enough to win a decision.
However, the judges unanimously and controversially scored the fight 30-27 in favor of Nurmagomedov.
The decision remains a huge topic of debate among MMA fans a dozen years later. In October 2024, UFC commentator Joe Rogan claimed Nurmagomedov ‘might have lost’ against Tibau during a podcast with Donald Trump.
Johnson made much easier work of Tibau when he fought the Brazilian at UFC 168 in December 2013.
The heavy-handed American dropped Tibau with a left hand to the temple in the second round of their fight. Johnson quickly capitalized to put Nurmagomedov’s toughest opponent out cold with nasty follow-up strikes.
Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson revisited
Nurmagomedov somewhat avenged his Tibau ‘loss’ by dominating Johnson at UFC 205 in November 2016.
As he often did, the former lightweight champion dominated with wrestling before ultimately scoring a third-round submission victory to improve his perfect record to 24-0.
Nurmagomedov famously told Johnson to ‘quit’ while hammering him with ground and pound at UFC 205.
“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?”
Johnson’s response wasn’t clear until he revealed his explicit two-word reaction eight years later.
“I was like, ‘F— you,” the fighter who will face Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 318 on Saturday night said.
“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.”