Charles
Johnson claims he had a lot more than five minutes left in him
when he turned the switch for a third-round comeback win over
Joshua
Van at UFC Denver.
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Johnson took on Van in the featured preliminary bout at UFC
on ESPN 59 in Denver on Saturday. The visuals weren’t looking
good for Johnson early on in fight that was otherwise even on the
judges’ scorecards. However, “InnerG” came out with guns blazing in
the final round, knocking Van out just twenty seconds into the
period to score a come-from-behind win.
While Johnson believes he was never quite out of the fight, he
credits his coach for flipping a switch in his mind going into the
third frame. When Justin Hardy asked him to go all in for five
minutes, the former
Legacy Fighting Alliance flyweight champ knew he was capable of
that and more. Johnson also hailed himself as the best five-round
flyweight fighter in the world, though he hasn’t had the chance to
show it yet.
“I was never groggy. I was never out of it, I was just flowing,”
Johnson told reporters during a post-fight media scrum. “But it’s time to hit a
switch, third round… Coach said, ‘It’s time. It’s five minutes of
work. Give me five great minutes.’ Five minutes, that ain’t s—t. I
ran cross country in college, bro. I ran 12 miles a day in college,
five minutes ain’t s—t but a shake out. That ain’t even a shake
out, that ain’t event a warmup for me. ‘Five minutes? I got five
minutes in me coach,’ that’s the feeling. I’m the best five-round
flyweight in the world. They haven’t seen it because I’m in this
three-round format.”
Johnson’s knockout win over Van marked his third straight triumph
within a span of six months, which saw him rebound from a
three-fight slump. Johnson hopes to be ranked among top 15
flyweights after extending his promotional record to 5-4.
“Hopefully, I should be ranked. That’s three wins in a row. [No.]
14- and 15 haven’t done nothing in this promotion for three fights
in three years. Su Mudaerji
hasn’t won since 2021 and [David] Dvorak is on a three-fight losing
streak. Let’s get some guys that’s been working and fighting
everyone like myself, like [Allan] Nascimento vs. [Jafel
Filho] – they’re fighting. I think one of them will earn a
spot, too. I think guys are earning their way up. Mick Maynard, man
you got a lot of talent in this weight class, baby. This is the
best weight class in the world. He’s doing a hell of a job trying
to keep everything in order.”