Michael Johnson – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Michael Johnson ahead of UFC Fight Night 236: ‘I’m not finished by a long shot’

Michael Johnson still has a lot left in the tank.

[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] still has a lot left in the tank.

Johnson (21-19 MMA, 13-15 UFC) enters his 29th octagon bout when he takes on Darrius Flowers (12-6-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 236 main card at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+).

The 37-year-old Season 12 “Ultimate Fighter” finalist showed serious potential earlier in his career when he defeated Tony Ferguson and knocked out Dustin Poirier, but has struggled in recent years. He’s had a lot of inconsistencies throughout his career, but hasn’t lost his desire to compete.

“(I’m) just keeping my mind on the goal, and that goal is to be victorious – to get in here, enjoy the process, and see where it goes from there,” Johnson said at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 236 media day. “I’ve been in this sport for a long time, and I’m not finished by a long shot.”

Johnson will look to rebound from his knockout loss to Diego Ferreira this past May, and says he’s had plenty of time to do so. He spent some time training with Bellator bantamweight champion Patchy Mix in preparation for Flowers.

“You’ll be looking for the best Michael Johnson you guys have seen to date,” Johnson said. “I’ve been training for this fight since like November, maybe even a little bit before that, because I was trying to get into the octagon late last year. So, I’ve been preparing all year. I’m in great shape, my mentality is great, and I’m ready to go in here, enjoy this process, and get the win.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 236.

UFC Fight Night 236 pre-event facts: Brad Tavares on verge of a Michael Bisping record

The best facts about UFC Fight Night 236, where Brad Tavares can tie multiple key records in middleweight and overall UFC history.

The UFC continues its busy February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 236, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.

For the third straight event, middleweights take stage in the headliner as [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag] (23-8 MMA, 10-6 UFC) returns from a career-long layoff to share the octagon with the surging [autotag]Joe Pyfer[/autotag] (12-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in a five-round bout.

For more on the numbers behind the main event, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts about UFC Fight Night 235.

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UFC Fight Night 224 post-event facts: Mackenzie Dern climbs strawweight bonus list

Check out all the facts and figures from UFC Fight Night 224, which saw Mackenzie Dern rack up another $50,000 bonus in the main event.

The UFC closed out its May schedule on Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) defeated [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) by unanimous decision in the Fight of the Night, with the grappling specialist landing a career-best 126 significant strikes over the course of five rounds.

For more on the numbers, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts about UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Two fighters net max non-title money

UFC Fight Night 224 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $179,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 224 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 224 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

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[autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag]: $6,000
[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Hayisaer Maheshate[/autotag]: $4,000
[autotag]Viacheslav Borshchev[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Karolina Kowalkiewicz[/autotag]: $11,000
[autotag]Vanessa Demopoulos[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Orion Cosce[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rodrigo Nascimento[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Ilir Latifi[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Nick Fiore[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Victoria Leonardo[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Takashi Sato[/autotag]: $6,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2241 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2023 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

“UFC Fight Night 224: Dern vs. Hill” – $179,500
“UFC on ABC 4: Rozenstruik vs. Almeida” – $267,500
“UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo” – $267,500
“UFC Fight Night 223: Song vs. Simon” – $144,500
“UFC Fight Night 222: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes” – $181,500
“UFC on ESPN 44: Holloway vs. Allen” – $254,500
“UFC 287: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2” – $274,500
“UFC on ESPN 43: Vera vs. Sandhagen” – $137,000
“UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3” – $266,500
“UFC Fight Night 221: Yan vs. Dvalishvili” – $194,000
“UFC 285: Jones vs. Gane” – $282,500
“UFC Fight Night 220: Muniz vs. Allen” – $126,000
“UFC Fight Night 219: Andrade vs. Blanchfield” – $158,000
“UFC 284: Makhachev vs. Volkanovski” – $263,000
“UFC Fight Night 218: Lewis vs. Spivac” – $136,000
“UFC 283: Teixeira vs. Hill” – $359,500
“UFC Fight Night 217: Strickland vs. Imavov” – $137,000

Year-to-date total: $3,214,500
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $17,803,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

UFC Fight Night 224 play-by-play and live results

Check out live play-by-play and official results from UFC Fight Night 224 in Las Vegas.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 224 took place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the main event, Mackenzie Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on Angela Hill (15-13 MMA, 10-13 UFC) in a women’s strawweight bout. In the co-feature, Anthony Hernandez (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) meets Edmen Shahbazyan (12-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at middleweight.

To discuss the show, be sure to check out our UFC Fight Night 224 discussion thread. You can also get behind-the-scenes coverage and other event notes from on-site reporter Ken Hathaway (@kenshathaway ) on Twitter.

UFC Fight Night 224 predictions: Who’s picking Angela Hill to upset Mackenzie Dern?

Check out our staff members’ picks for the UFC Fight Night 224 main card, featuring Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill.

	Dern vs. Hill	Hernandez vs. Shahbazyan	Ducote vs. Godinez	Buckley vs. Fialho	Ferreira vs. Johnson
MMA Junkie readers’ consensus picks 73-51	Dern (79%)	Hernandez (54%)	Godinez (74%)	Buckley (69%)	Johnson (52%)
Matt Erickson @MattE 81-43	Dern	Hernandez	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Simon Samano @SJSamano 78-46	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira
Matthew Wells @MrMWells 77-47	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
George Garcia @MMAjunkieGeorge 74-50	Dern	Hernandez	Godinez	Buckley	Johnson
Nolan King @mma_kings 74-50	Dern	Hernandez	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira
Mike Bohn @MikeBohn 72-52 2014 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Ken Hathaway @kenshathaway -70-54 2018, 2022 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Farah Hannoun @Farah_Hannoun 68-56	Dern	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Ferreira
Danny Segura @dannyseguratv 68-56	Hill	Shahbazyan	Godinez	Buckley	Johnson
Abbey Subhan @kammakaze 68-56	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Johnson
Brian Garcia @thegoze 65-59 2017 Champion	Dern	Shahbazyan	Ducote	Buckley	Ferreira

The UFC is back in its “Sin City” home base with a slightly delayed women’s strawweight bout at the top of the card.

UFC Fight Night 224 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card streams on ESPN+.

(Click here to open a PDF of the staff picks grid in a separate window.)

In the main event, [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a women’s 115-pound matchup that was supposed to take place this past week at UFC on ABC 4 until it was pulled to headline this card. Jiu-jitsu ace Dern nearly is a 2-1 favorite at most sportsbooks, and she’s got a big lead in the picks from our 11 editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers, who have it as a blowout for her at 10-1.

In the co-feature, [autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag] (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) meets [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) in a middleweight matchup. Hernandez is a big favorite at nearly 3-1, but only three of our staff members are picking him and have Shahbazyan in an upset at 8-3.

Also on the main card, [autotag]Emily Ducote[/autotag] (12-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) and [autotag]Loopy Godinez[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fight at a 120-pound contract weight, granted due to the short notice for Godinez, who stepped in for Polyana Viana. Godinez is a mild favorite, and she’s got a 7-4 lead in the picks.

[autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] (15-6 MMA, 5-4 UFC) is a 2-1 favorite at middleweight against [autotag]Andre Fialho[/autotag] (16-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC), and he’s also our only unanimous pick on the main card at 11-0.

And to open the main card at lightweight, [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) will try to get back to .500 in the UFC when he takes on [autotag]Diego Ferreira[/autotag] (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). Ferreira is a -150 favorite and has a big 8-3 lead from our pickers.

In the MMA Junkie consensus picks, Dern (79 percent), Hernandez (54 percent), Godinez (74 percent), Buckley (69 percent) and Johnson (52 percent) are the choices.

Check out all the picks above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

Michael Johnson motivated and ‘thirsty for a world title’ ahead of UFC Fight Night 224

UFC Fight Night 224’s Michael Johnson is motivated by “seeing guys that I know I’m better than getting paid.”

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Michael Johnson[/autotag] claims he’s more driven than ever as he prepared for his 28th octagon appearance on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 224.

Johnson (21-18 MMA, 13-14 UFC) has been part of the UFC roster since December 2010. Throughout that time he’s beaten marquee names such as Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza and Tony Ferguson, but he’s also lost to number of opponents who would be, in theory, defined as inferior.

Ahead of Saturday’s lightweight matchup with Diego Ferreira (17-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC), which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+, Johnson said he’s in a very good place.

“We can get back to fighting and get to getting this money and hey, 36, about to be 37 – I’m probably the healthiest I’ve been,” Johnson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “The surgeries are cleared up. Fresh-minded, clear-minded and no stress and I’m having fun in life now.”

Johnson’s ride through MMA has been quite the rollercoaster. However, he’s not ready to get off the ride. He’s still determined to chase greatness, and wants the glory as well as financial rewards that come along with being at the pinnacle of the sport.

“A lot of things that keep me motivated is seeing guys that I know I’m better than getting paid, getting big money, getting big fights,” Johnson said. “Guys that I’ve beaten getting these big fights, getting all the popularity and all that sh*t I don’t care about. I just want to be financially stable from this UFC. I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for.

“Whether that takes me another five years. Six, seven years. I’m going to stay until I’m done and the job’s finished. … I still want a world title. I’m thirsty for that world title. I’m thirsty for all that money in the bank. We’ll see how the next few years go, and then we’ll adjust.”

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Johnson said he understands the challenge he’s facing at UFC Fight Night 224. Ferreira enters the matchup on a three-fight losing skid, and is going to be focused on turning the tide. Johnson has been in that position, too, and he said getting his hand raised would be a tall task.

“I understand exactly what’s going on with Diego, being up and down. It’s the sport. It is what it is. But he’s a true veteran. He’s beaten some of the best guys. He’s beaten champions before. He’s tough. He’s a guy that always comes to fight. That’s what I’m excited for.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.

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Video: UFC Fight Night 224 media day interviews

Before UFC Fight Night 224 arrives, 12 athletes from the main card are scheduled to speak to reporters Wednesday at media day.

LAS VEGAS – The UFC schedule for May closes out Saturday with UFC Fight Night 224, which takes place at the UFC Apex with a full card that streams on ESPN+.

A strawweight main event serves as the final act on the card. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] will take on [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] in a matchup of fighters looking to take the next step forward in the division.

Before fight night arrives, though, 11 athletes spoke to reporters Wednesday at media day, and MMA Junkie was in attendance.

If you happen to miss any of the individual sessions on the live stream, check below for the archived videos of each media day.

UFC Fight Night 224 pre-event facts: Will third time be the charm for Mackenzie Dern?

Check out the numbers behind UFC Fight Night 223, where Mackenzie Dern will make her third attempt at a UFC main event victory.

After two weeks on the road, the UFC returns to its home base on Saturday for UFC Fight Night 224 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The entire card streams on ESPN+.

The makeshift main event for the card will feature a pair of strawweight contender hopefuls. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will meet [autotag]Angela Hill[/autotag] (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) in a five-round matchup.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s pre-event facts for UFC Fight Night 223.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC and Bellator fights announced in the past week (April 3-9)

All the UFC and Bellator fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC or Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie from April 3-9.