UFC
Tampa was, at least in part, a showcase for the old guys.
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While 41-year-old Cub
Swanson’s knockout of Billy
Quarantillo in the co-main event deservedly garnered the lion’s
share of the attention, 38-year-old Michael
Johnson had a spectacular finish of his own, scoring a vicious
KO of Ottman
Azaitar on the evening’s uncard at Amalie Arena on Saturday
night.
Johnson, who was a finalist on “The Ultimate Fighter 12” in 2010,
never envisioned his career lasting as long as it has.
“I did not think I would be fighting til I was 38,” he said at the
UFC Tampa post-fight press conference (video via MMAjunkie.com). “My plan was to get in the UFC, fight
the best guys, win, get a title, be financially able to retire
around 30….so eight years past that, and I’m still going. It feels
great. I have no problem with missing my first goal. Now I’m on to
my second goal and that’s what keeps me motivated.”
While Johnson hasn’t seriously approached championship contention,
he has compiled a resume with a number of noteworthy moments,
including triumphs over the likes of Dustin
Poirier, Edson
Barboza, Tony
Ferguson, Joe Lauzon and
Melvin
Guillard, to name a few. He’s also squared off against many of
the sport’s other luminaries — names like Khabib
Nurmagomedov, Justin
Gaethje and Nate Diaz —
during his tenure. At this point, “The Menace” senses a growing
appreciation from the MMA fanbase.
“You see the fans change as the times go on It’s like different
kind of movements, and you don’t really know what you’re going to
get,” he said. “So 15 years in, the fans are still enjoying
watching me fight, and it just motivates me more to keep going and
keep getting in here and fighting to the best of my ability and
continue to get better every day.
“That’s what’s next for me – to get back into the gym, to work on
things that I need to work on improving. My wrestling can get
touched up. My jiu-jitsu can always get touched up. My striking can
always get touched up. I just want to improve every day. I’m all
about growth right now.”
After a 2-0 campaign in 2024, Johnson is optimistic about the years
to come — and he isn’t assigning an expiration date to his fighting
career.
“I think Nate Diaz said
it the best, and he’s turned into a good friend. He was an opponent
of mine. We always keep in touch, but he made a comment that said,
‘Sh*t, I’ll fight till I’m 50. Just getting started.’ So that’s
what it is,” Johnson said.
“I’m just getting started. This might be my peak. A lot of people
peak at 25, 30 [years old]. I might be one peaking at 38, 40.”