Conor McGregor vacated his UFC title as soon as he agreed to Floyd Mayweather fight, says Michael Johnson
Speaking ahead of UFC 213, where he will fight former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, Johnson said McGregor should be made to vacate his belt
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Your support makes all the difference.It’s the UFC’s International Fight Week 2017 and MMA fans from around the world are descending on Las Vegas, Nevada for UFC 213, which goes down this Saturday.
24-hours before UFC 213 takes place, season 25 of The Ultimate Fighter will wrap up with a finale event taking place at the T-Mobile Arena. The main event will see two of the most exciting lightweight fighters go at it when Michael Johnson takes on the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje.
Johnson will take a significant experience advantage into the Octagon this Friday having debuted in the UFC back in 2010. Gaethje will be making his first ever appearance under the UFC banner, but he’s a man that Johnson has been keep an eye on for many years.
Speaking to exclusively to The Independent this week, Johnson explained why Gaethje had always been a man on his radar.
“I’ve always paid attention to Justin because I’m a guy that just loves watching fighters who just go in there to lay it all out there and fight,” Johnson said.
“I like fighters that never take a step back and just go out there with intention of taking their opponent’s head off—kill or be killed. The thing is, Justin doesn’t know how much I’m ready for that and believe me, I’m going to fight fire with fire when he steps in there with me. He’s not fought anyone like me before.”
While Gaethje isn’t ranked, he will be big scalp for Johnson given his champion pedigree and his extensive 17-0 undefeated record. The man sitting on top of the 155-pounds division is Conor McGregor.
The Irishman is currently out of the UFC mix preparing for a boxing super fight with Floyd Mayweather and Johnson believes the champions inactivity no longer means he should be holding the belt.
“The division is what it is right now and as far as I’m concerned we don’t have a champion in this division right now,” Johnson said.
“That title got vacated the second that Conor signed to fight Floyd in a boxing match. I mean, that’s great for him, hats off and all that, but from my standpoint, we don’t have a champion in this division right now. Once I deal with Justin, they’re going to need someone to fill that vacant spot and I plan on that being me.”
While some of would feeling the extra of being in the main event of one of the summer’s biggest fight cards, the spotlight isn’t something all that new to Johnson. He believes he’s seen it all before and that on Friday night he’s being given a platform to make a big impact.
“There’s no pressure on me at all,” Johnson said.
“I’ve been there before and this will be my second main event out of my last three fights. This is actually going to be my third main event because I was the main event when I debuted in the UFC after The Ultimate Fighter. I’ve been in the promotion five years and I’ve fought the best guys. I’ve fought the best guys in the world so there’s no pressure on me at all. I’m coming in there relaxed and I’m going to make a big statement with my performance.”
With the stage set and the opportunity at hand as big as they get, Johnson is focused on going in there and getting the job done on Friday night with no distractions. For him at least, the challenge is simple. Beat Gaethje and continue to make improvements on his road to the title.
“Right now, beating Justin is my main goal now, but all the goals are the same—keep winning, and then get the belt,” Johnson said.
“Progressing and getting better is my main goal. People have new year resolutions to get better at this and that, but for me it’s always the same. As long as I’m going to the gym and progressing, then I’m doing things right. This is the process I got to follow and I’m on my way.”
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