Michael Johnson recently recapped his famous fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
'The Menace' is currently on a victory tour after scoring another sensational victory over Ottman Azaitar after previously putting Dustin Poirier to sleep in September 2016.
Mike Perry invited the longtime lightweight contender onto his podcast and the two men talked about everything from Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul to crazy Las Vegas stories.
Naturally, Michael Johnson's 2016 defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov came up, and the heavy-handed American reflected on his opponent telling him to 'give up' mid-fight.
Michael Johnson responded explicitly to UFC 205
Before Conor McGregor knocked out Eddie Alvarez to become the first dual-weight champion in company history at UFC 205 in November 2016, Johnson fought Nurmagomedov on the undercard.
'The Eagle', as he often did, dominated with his wrestling before eventually scoring a third-round victory and improving his perfect record to 24-0.
Johnson always likes to point out that he entered that battle at very short notice.
“I fought mine on two weeks' notice. Nobody even talks about that. I was doing a tour for the troops, and they called me,” he said on the Overdogs Podcast.
The conversation came at the famous moment when Nurmagomedov was hammering ground and pound as he begged his opponent to stop.
“You have to give it up,” he said. “I have to fight for the title. You know this. I have to fight for the title. Do you agree?”
Eight years later, Johnson has revealed that he strongly disagreed with what his opponent said when he hit Nurmagomedov with an explicit two-word response and a backhand in an attempt to shut him up.
He said: 'I was like, 'F*** you!' Hit him with a backhand like, “I'm still in it!” I can't move, but I'm in it!'.
“I wasn't going to give up. He's good. I went into that fight, all I was thinking about was his wrestling, his wrestling, his wrestling, his wrestling. So I didn't think about myself and that was my fault.
“You know, I just went in there, waiting for him to shoot. I'm trying to find my moves. I crouched down a bit and couldn't really move.
“Bro, he's good and strong, he felt like a middleweight. That's a problem. I couldn't move, but he helped me get better. I went back to the gym and started working on that, so without that fight I wouldn't be here.
“The thing is, if I could have gone in there and gotten a knockout… I would have taken over everything.”
Michael Johnson names his toughest opponent
Johnson is better positioned than most to be named the greatest lightweight in UFC history.
The 38-year-old has been competing in MMA's premier promotion since 2011.
During that time, he has made the walk to the Octagon 30 times and traded blows with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Dustin Poirier, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje and Edson Barboza.
Johnson didn't hesitate when asked who gave him the toughest fight in September 2021.
“It has to be Khabib,” he said in an interview with Helen Yee.
“It was tough. I took that fight on two or three weeks notice, which people really don't talk about, which is fine, but I just wasn't that prepared to fight someone of that caliber.
“I just saw the opportunity. I thought, 'Why not? It's a big risk with a big reward.”
“Of course I'm going to fight the best of the best in Madison Square Garden. That just intrigued me to fight it.
“It was definitely one of the toughest and I learned a lot from that fight.”
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