Mokaev or Islam will never be Khabib - Charles Johnson discusses casualness of MMA fans and road to title ahead of UFC debut

James Lynch from Sportskeeda MMA caught up with former LFA flyweight champion Charles 'InnerG' Johnson. Johnson, who has finally been signed by the UFC, had an interesting back story to share regarding upcoming talent Muhammed Mokaev. From dealing with adversity to talking about training, the two spoke about some truly interesting bits.

Charles 'InnerG' Johnson is a flyweight fighter and a former LFA flyweight champion on four fight win streak. He has spent time at the famed Tiger Muay Thai gym with his upcoming opponent Muhammed Mokaev, and the two are slated to fight on July 23 at UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Catch the transcription and timestamps for the interview below.

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Watch Charles Johnson's interview with Sporstkeeda MMA below:

Introduction: It is so good seeing my next guest, finally making his UFC debut. He’s going to be taking on Muhammed Mokaev [at] UFC Fight Night: UFC London July 23rd. It’s Charles Johnson - 'Inner G'. Charles, how are you doing man?

A: I'm doing great, man, how are you doing?

Q: So first, did you know anything about Mokaev before taking this fight? Were you familiar with him?

A: Yeah i’m familiar with him. In 2020 when I was in Tiger Muay Thai, he came out there for a few weeks, and he had been there before. He was familiar with the coaches out there as well, and I was out there because I was on sponsorship with Tiger Muay Thai since the try-outs.

I trained with him a couple of times, it wasn’t anything like intense, we did a couple of stand-up rounds, a little bit of grappling. Not too much to really know from it, it was just a little training session, not too much to really hang anybody’s hat on.

Just another day at training so, and so I was familiar with it, when I saw that he got signed after my first title defense, I believe? And so once I saw that, I was talking to my managers about me getting signed, you know, like this kid’s 6-0 and he just got signed so, like, it should be about our time soon too, you know? So when they said Muhammed Mokaev July 23rd, I knew exactly who it was and what I was in store for.

Q: Well and not just that, you’re fighting him in London, he’s from London, he’s a young guy. They’re obviously trying to build him up a bit, what’s it like having your debut, let’s call it like it is - I’m sure the UFC would want him to win, how does that feel? I know you’ve been in enemy territory before, but to have your debut be like that, what are your feelings on that?

A: The UFC is in the game of, whoever is going to bring eyes and money into the building, you know. He brings a lot of money, he brings a lot of views, brings a lot of eyes so, obviously on their part, I don't think it’s a smart play for them... I know they’re not in the business of building fighters anymore, it’s kind of like a revolving door nowadays. So whoever takes that mantle they roll with, so you know, for me it’s nothing but opportunity. I think they’ll be happy with whoever wins this fight.

Honestly, with me being a former LFA champion, there’s other LFA champions who’ve gained the title there, like Brandon Moreno, so I think they’ll be happy regardless of the outcome of this fight.

Q: I think Mokaev is a great fighter, I still think the line’s off here, you know? Like him being an almost 4:1 favor.

A: Well, it tells you a lot about the casualness of MMA fans, you know, like they just see this kid. Even the betting line, like they just see “oh undefeated”... a lot of betting lines are like that.

A lot of casual fans don’t know me, you know, get behind, young kid, everybody wants to see the next great thing right. He is a really good fighter, but I dig the lines, I always see the betting lines are pretty ridiculous.

Fighting is one of those sports where betting lines get very blurry really fast, unless you’re a Valentina Shevchenko. I think that’s the only individual in our sport that stands out in a betting situation, to be honest. Because I think the women are really far behind her in that weight class.

Q: How much do you think experience will play into this? You know, Mokaev’s got the amateur experience, that was one of the things with him, you know. When he went pro he had all these fights under his belt, but if you look at his pro career, you mentioned Cody Durden.

He doesn’t have a strong list of opponents that he’s fought. You have. You fought Brandon Royval. You’ve fought in [the] LFA, you did those reps early on, how much will that play into this fight [do] you think?

A: I think It’s less about experience, because I think he’s been training with top-level guys around the world. And, just being groomed for this moment, he’s been groomed since he was about 12 years old. He’s been around top-notch talent, he knows what it looks like, he knows what it feels like. So when it comes to experience he’ll be prepared, he’s already fought in the UFC, he’ll be prepared.

I don’t think it’s much less about experience, I think it’s more about, we’ll see what he does with adversity. I know how I deal with adversity, you know. But I deal with adversity really well, whether It’s life or in the cage, so we’ll see what kind of adversity he’s able to deal with in the cage. When things don’t go as easy as he thinks they will, you know. He thinks that things will be, I don’t know man.

Q: It’s true, you really do see when a fighter is made up of adversity, a prime example of this is Charles Oliveria. Like, "Mr Adversity," like people were writing him off and he’s the dominant UFC champion now, and he looks great. So I think there’s a point there for sure.

A: People like to create a narrative, for people, before they've done much of anything, it happens a lot. It's nice and cool to see a really young kid like him, if he was in any other weight class, I'd probably be rooting for him. In any other weight class, I'd be rooting for him, but he's in flyweight you know. So the moment you decide to be at flyweight you're already in competition to me, and so.

It's some things that he says I agree with, and I fly with, and some things that I don't. So it's interesting for me to see how other people take the things that he says. Compared to how they take things that he said if they come from other people [JL: yeah, I know what you mean].

Because when he says certain things, everybody jumps up and if somone else would have said this. It's taken differently, so I think it's interesting how these fighters coming from Dagestan when they say certain things.

The casual MMA fans have already related them to Khabib, you know, nobody's going to be Khabib. Islam Makchev is great, I saw him on the mats in Tiger Muay Thai, I think he has a chance to do some really special things. But even he's never going to be Khabib, you know? Khabib was a one-off, and I think, just don't people as discount fighters.

Q: Why train out there in Philly? I know you mentioned obviously [there’s] some great people you get to work with. But why there, I believe the last time we talked, you were training with Joaquin Buckley and those guys over in Michigan.

A: Yeah that’s my home gym, I just came out there to take the opportunity, with Jordan Burroughs specifically. He invited me out here and, I met him at their supermatch back a couple of months ago. They had an event with Kyle Snyder and J’Den Cox, and me and him [Burroughs] had a great conversation and he invited me out here, and I stayed in contact and then I came out here, you know, at the start of camp to, you know, keep building that relationship and also see if there’s something I can do more in the future.

Be it a second camp that I can cross-train with, I knew Daniel Gracie’s gym was close so just you know. Seeing what it felt like, and I was already new there, I wanted to get a lot of wrestling in this camp.

With Muhammed, his keys to victory are a lot more different than mine, [and] for me I feel like he only has a couple of ways to go. Whereas [for] me, I have a lot more tools in my belt, and so if I focus on a couple of things, you know. For most of this camp, other things are going to shine anyways.

Q: A past opponent I just mentioned in this interview, Brandon Royval. I know obviously he’s doing great things in the division, he’s really high up there. Is that still a fight you want, that rematch? Is that on your list, or you don’t care about it?

Because some fighters do, ones who obviously avenge a loss. I was just curious about your thoughts on that.

A: No, I don’t care anything with that loss, it was a great fight, me and him were both great. I felt like I won the fight, the judges gave it to him, and that’s just what it is, I like Brandon in person and as a fighter. If we ever do fight again, it’ll be a great fight, but I would prefer to fight him for a belt.

I’m hoping that he gets the opportunity to win the belt in the next year or so? The outcome of my fight is going to loom very large with those top five to ten rankings. Because whoever wins my fight is going to be in line [for] two fights from now on to push for a title.

My fight is a title fight to me, I’m coming out of title fights, this is a title fight to [for] me. Every fight moving forward is a title fight to [for] me. Because for me in the flyweight division it’s three fights you know? It only takes three and you’re right there. And so, for me It’s [a] title fight, you never know, these guys don’t like making weight, you could get caught up to replace someone, you know, in the interim spot for the title and so you just have to be prepared.

And so the first-thing-first is to handle business [on] July 23rd because this fight is basically a title fight. And the winner of this fight has so much momentum moving forward, and I honestly believe [that] whoever loses this fight, won’t loose momentum either. I think we’re going to put up such a good fight, that both of us is [are] going to have momentum moving forward.

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Timestamps:

Q1: I’m doing awesome, I know It’s been a while since you got signed in the UFC.

But how does it feel being introduced as a UFC fighter? (0:13)

Q2: I always ask this, how did you find out the news that you had been signed in the UFC?

Was it an email or phonecall, take me through when you found out and signed the pen to paper. (0:29)

Q3: That’s amazing, so first, did you know anything about Mokaev before taking this fight? Were you familiar with him? (2:34)

Q4: Well and not just that, you’re fighting him in London, he’s from London, he’s a young guy.

They’re obviously trying to build him up a bit, what’s it like having your debut, let’s call it like it is.

I’m sure the UFC would want him to win, how does that feel? I know you’ve been in enemy territory before.

But to have your debut be like that, what are your feelings on that? (3:53)

Q5: Yeah absolutely, and just [one] last thing on the match up, do you know you’re like a 3:1 underdog?

Did you see the betting odds? I checked this morning, you’re like plus 325, did you know that? (5:05)

Q6: Well I was going to say, your buddy’s going to win a lot of money here.

Because i think personally, I know you both quite well, you, I’ve interviewed you for years. Like that’s a crazy line in my opinion.

And I think Mokaev is a great fighter, I still think the line’s off here, you know, like him being an almost 4:1 favor. (5:17)

Q7: How much do you think experience will play into this?

You know, Mokaev’s got the amateur experience, that was one of the things with him, you know.

When he went ‘pro’ he had all these fights under his belt, but if you look at his pro career, you mentioned Cody Durden.

He doesn’t have a strong list of opponents that he’s fought, you have, you fought Brandon Royval.

You’ve fought in [the] LFA, you did those reps early on, how much will that play into this fight [do] you think? (6:30)

Q8: It’s true, you really do see when a fighter is made up of adversity, a prime example of this is Charles Oliveria.

Like ‘Mr Adversity’, like people were writing him off and he’s the [a] dominant UFC champion now, and he looks great.

So I think there’s a point there for sure. (7:50)

Q9: Let’s talk about the training camp you’re in Philly right now, take me through what’s camp looking like from right now until London.

What are you going to be training? What are you doing? Who are you going to be working with? (9:40)

Q10: Why train out there in Philly? I know you mentioned obviously [there’s] some great people you get to work with.

But why there, I believe the last time we talked, you were training with Joaquin Buckley and those guys over in Michigan. (11:09)

Q11: The weight cut, you always make weight, but with this being in London, do you alter that with the travel time and everything?

How are you navigating that, ahead of the fight? (12:29)

Q12: Who’s going to be making the trip down there with you? Who’s going to be in your corner? (13:22)

Q13: I didn’t know you live with Michael Gilmore, that’s the nicest guy ever, I really enjoy chatting with him.

Really nice guy, doesn’t look like a fighter like, if you see him on the street I’m sure, because he looks like a regular guy.

But he’s like a killer In there [the cage] man. (13:47)

Q14: How’s this fight playing out on July 23rd? (14:28)

Q15: Not looking past July 23rd, I imagine you’d like to get one more in this year, maybe two [fights]?

As for your timeline in [for] 2022, would you like to get in a couple of more this year? (15:25)

Q16: A past opponent I just mentioned in this interview, Brandon Royval.

I know obviously he’s doing great things in the division, he’s really high up there.

Is that still a fight you want, that rematch? Is that on your list, or you don’t care about it?

Because some fighters do, ones who obviously avenge a loss. I was just curious about your thoughts on that. (16:00)

Q17: Like Islam and Arman Tsarukyan. (18:01)

Q18: Charles again, congratulations on getting into the UFC. I’m really excited for this fight.

You know we’ve been doing interviews for a while, [the] best part of my job is getting interviews with fighters like yourself.

And see them make it into the UFC and I know you have big things ahead and it starts July 23rd, UFC London.

If there’s anyone you want to thank? Any sponsors you want to plug in? Any social media? I’ll give you the last word. (19:25)