FIGHT TIME
Friday, July 7th
6:00 PM PST
9:00 PM EST
Las Vegas, Nevada
The UFC Unveils it's Newest Contender in Former 'World Series of Fighting' Lightweight Champion 'The Highlight'!
Michael 'The Menace' Johnson:
MJ has become a staple in the UFC lightweight division, and one of the best pure strikers in mixed martial arts today. He trains out of Florida with former Blackzilian's head striking coach Henri Hooft. The Dutch Kickboxing coach is a legend in combat sports, and he brought all his best students to his new facility in South Florida. Johnson has the benefit of sparring with the most elite strikers in the world: online footage has surfaced of 'Menace' throwing down with Nieky Holzken (Former GLORY Kickboxing Welterweight Tournament Champion) and Robin Van Roosmalen (Former GLORY Featherweight and Lightweight Champion), and training with those warriors everyday can only sharpen him.
Johnson has always struggled with grappling in the cage, but his pressure fighting and immaculate counter punching has made him an absolute threat to everyone on the feet. MJ's style is fully accustomed to pure striking over three rounds, any fighter willing to stand with Johnson for the full fifteen minutes will be making a tremendously costly oversight to his skill. The likes of Dustin Poirier and Gleison Tibau both underestimated the punching power of Johnson by rushing him early: this plunged them both into a state of unconsciousness from a few well placed counters.
This accurate hitter has a great fearlessness in the Octagon, and he will pressure any man unwilling to trade blows. A few losses to the world's elite in Khabib and Nate Diaz shouldn't be looked at too glaringly, Edson Barboza is ranked higher than Johnson and he lost to him no more than four fights ago. This is a sport of 'moments', and 'The Menace' has risen to the occasion countless times when it has mattered the most...
Justin 'The Highlight' Gaethje:
The ferociously fly (and now) un-ranked lightweight will be making his UFC debut against a 'top 5' contender! He is the former 'WSoF' champion and carries an illustrious and undefeated record of 17-0. This man is a FINISHER in every sense; his handiwork is done with devastating leg kicks and vicious inside boxing...even though he is a wrestler by trade. Gaethje was the first man ever to claim 'First Division All-American Honors' in 2007 for his school 'UNC' (University of Northern Colorado), and he can rely on his crafty and efficient double leg take-downs at any point in a fight.
Gaethje won the 'World Series...' belt in 2014, and has earned 5 straight defenses of that belt within a little over two years time: all of these wins have come by finish due to strikes. Justin had one of the more lackadaisical performances of his career when he encountered former UFC standout Melvin Guillard. 'The Assassin' came into their bout overweight, and in turn disallowed Gaethje's eventual win to be counted as a title defense. Nonetheless, 'The Highlight' comes into the UFC with a nearly flawless paper and performance record.
With amateur and professional bouts combined, the UFC now has a 24-0 former lightweight champion (with an 80% finish rate), an immediate top 5 contender, an athlete in his athletic prime at 28 years old...and a man who has fought multiple times per year, every year since 2008! This kind of experience and determination has brought Gaethje to the highest level of fighting, and he will be ready to put on a show in his first five round main event!
Breakdown and Prediction:
At 28 years old, Justin Gaethje is still an evolving prospect. His aggression and ‘take one to give three’ style flusters his opponents into exhaustion because he never stops moving forward. ‘The Highlight’ is a perfect 17-0 former champion, a feat most fighters will never attest to! Justin be well equipped going into the biggest fight of his life, expect him to implement a brutal pace as he did on Palomino and countless others before him!
The only struggle with JG seems to be his striking defense: he gets hit hard and he gets hit often. This trait needs some tightening to compete at a top level consistently, but for now his granite chin will be his main reliance in taking a hard shot. Gaethje is a marvelous brawler, and his aggression resembles that of a prime Wanderlei Silva. He is an absolute pleasure to watch, and a victory for this fighter would bring much needed attention to a scrambled and out place lightweight division.
Division-ally Michael Johnson is one of the sternest tests at 155 pounds, stylistically he is also one of the easiest to game plan for. Voluminous and stinging counter punches remain his best weapon throughout a fight, but MJ has yet to truly adapt his striking in combination with wrestling defense. Johnson has always lingered in the top 8 of lightweight, but his lack of grappling skill has led to his demise when encountering true number one contenders such as Khabib Nurmageomedov.
This fight involves a lot of details under the surface that will greatly affect the outcome. This bout places both men in their first five round main event. Gaethje has fought numerous times as main event headliner, but never for the UFC, and never for 25 minutes. Neither fighter has ever shown slowing or a lack of pressure in their respective bouts, whomever controls the center of the cage will win this fight.
Gaethje has two finishes on his record due to leg kicks, and Johnson is susceptible to this type of damage (as he doesn't 'check' low kicks often at all). Johnson is an expert counter striker, and Gaethje does leave himself wide open to uppercuts and knees up the middle. When 'The Highlight' throws bombs with his chin down, he is seeking an entry to taking his opponent to the floor, and this would actually be 'The Menace's' best time to punish him for his recklessness. We will see an interesting clash of styles in this lightweight main event, a pre-cursor to an extravagant UFC 213 the next day. Enjoy the fights!
Prediction: Justin Gaethje by 4th Round TKO
