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Michael Johnson has been a perennial contender in the UFC lightweight division. He has fought the very best fighters that the 155lbs division has to offer.
There was no dearth of talent in 'The Menace', but the only thing that held him back from winning the title is the inconsistency in his performances. Johnson's 19-16 career record is proof that he could never really put together a solid winning streak that would earn him a title shot. However, there was a period between August 2013 and February 2015 when Johnson picked up back-to-back wins against Joe Lauzon, Gleison Tibau, Melvin Guillard, and Edson Barboza.
Michael Johnson is an out-and-out entertainer and has delivered some of the most incredible performances inside the Octagon. He's never backed away from a difficult matchup and fought the best fighters in the division, picking up wins against quite a few of them.
Michael Johnson's most famous scalps inside the Octagon
Michael Johnson was for a long time the only man in UFC history to defeat the former interim champion, Tony Ferguson, inside the Octagon. Johnson picked up a unanimous decision win against Ferguson at UFC on Fox: Diaz vs. Miller back in 2012. That record has now changed following 'El Cucuy's' back to back failures against Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 and Charles Oliveira at UFC 256 respectively.
Johnson also defeated another former interim champion, Dustin Poirier. Poirier and Michael Johnson met in the headliner of a UFC Fight Night event in 2016 where 'The Menace' bagged a massive first-round knockout win over 'The Diamond'. Poirier is set to return to action in the first pay-per-view of 2021 in a much-anticipated rematch against Conor McGregor.
Michael Johnson then took on the undefeated lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and former interim champ Justin Gaethje back to back inside the Octagon. The fight against Nurmagomedov was indeed a stylistic nightmare for Johnson, who got mauled and later submitted by 'The Eagle'.
Gaethje and Johnson delivered a 'fight of the night' performance at The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale. It was a back and forth slugfest which 'The Highlight' won via knockout in the second round.
Johnson is set to face Clay Guida up next at a UFC event on February 6. Michael Johnson is undoubtedly one of the best lightweights to ever step inside the Octagon, having fought 22 times in the UFC. Throughout his career, Johnson has danced inside the cage with some of the greatest fighters in UFC history and will definitely go down as one of the most entertaining fighters the sport has ever seen.
