'The Menace' did not friendly go to the callout of his opponent who led them to be coordinated on July 19.
The first face-off between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway was incredibly respectful when they prepare to meet each other in the main event on Saturday evening.
However, this has not been the case across the board on the way to UFC 318, where several hunters have had bad blood to get off their chest.
He may fight Roman Kopylov in the Co-Main event, but that did not stop Paulo Costa from talking about his feud with Khamzat Chimaev when he spoke with the media.
The will of Brendan Allen and Marvin Vettori have had their heated interactions in the past, but there is still a remarkable name that had a bone to choose with his dance partner before July 19.
Michael Johnson calls on Daniel Zellhuber for his messages on social media who have led to their UFC 318 -Matchup
Opening the main map on UFC 318 is a lightweight matchup between one of the exciting rising stars of the division and an Octagon veteran of 30 fights.
After he had not participated since his Show-Stelen Split decision loss at UFC 306, Daniel Zellhuber made it completely clear which opponent he encountered next time via an Instagram post.
The 26-year-old called Michael Johnson by sharing videos of some of his knockout losses, and wrote in the caption that this would be his “coordinated fight”.
A few months later, Johnson and Zellhuber shared a meeting at the UFC Apex before the fight was booked before July 19.
Johnson debuted in the UFC in 2010 after he came through 'the Ultimate Fighter', and is no stranger to a little waste, but he found the behavior of his opponent disrespectful.
'The Menace' tackled this during his interviews in the media day and claims that he is looking forward to humiliating Zellhuber in New Orleans.
“Talking in here -he is a bit too stubborn. He is a bit too confident and he is young, you know, I get it. These guys are young and they are their mouths and this and that. Even the way he got this fight was a kind of bastard.
“He wants to post me that I am switched off on his Instagram and so much waste and this and that talks. He just feeds my fire. He just puts a lot of pressure on himself and he is going to learn the hard way.”
Michael Johnson sends a message to “Scumbag” Daniel Zellhuber prior to their fight on #UFC318:
“He wants to talk so much waste. … He is going to learn in the hard way.” pic.twitter.com/vl7sljnefm
– MMA Fighting (@mmafighting) 17 July 2025
View tweet
Michael Johnson has confronted with an incredibly heavy opposition, including Dustin Poirier
Daniel Zellhuber is perhaps one of the most exciting talents to keep an eye on the lightweight division, but Michael Johnson is tested and tested.
The 39-year-old has reached an incredible lifespan in the promotion, which is probably the reason why Zellhuber believes that he can use him as a springboard to get back on the right track.
During his UFC career, Johnson confronted with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Nate Diaz and Justin Gaethje.
Not to mention the fact that 'The Menace' stopped in one of his biggest victories ever in one round in 2016, which then set him up to view Nurmagomedov at UFC 205 in New York.