{"id":236185,"date":"2017-05-07T12:09:08","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T19:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=236185"},"modified":"2017-05-07T12:09:08","modified_gmt":"2017-05-07T19:09:08","slug":"michael-johnson-criticizes-lightweight-peers-nobody-wants-tough-fights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/exclusive-interviews\/michael-johnson-criticizes-lightweight-peers-nobody-wants-tough-fights\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Johnson says his lightweight peers are avoiding tough fights, too focused on ‘money fights’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Top-10 UFC lightweight Michael Johnson has not been seen in the Octagon since November of 2016, when he succumbed to a third-round submission<\/a> dealt by undefeated Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov. This, however, is not for lack of trying.<\/p>\n

Having recovered from his loss to Nurmagomedov, Johnson has been eager for a return to the cage for some time. Unfortunately, he’s had a very difficult time finding a willing dance partner. On the latest edition of BJ Penn Radio<\/a>, Johnson explained that he believes this is because many of the UFC’s top lightweights are reluctant to take tough fights.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s been just a lack of opponents, I guess,\u201d Johnson said of his recent inactivity. \u201cNobody\u2019s really wanting to fight tough fights. Everybody\u2019s wanting to pick their fights and pick and choose. I think like two or three fights got booked with guys that I was willing to fight, and now they\u2019re fighting each other. So I\u2019ve just gotta sit back and wait and see who signs the next contract.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t call it \u2018ducking\u2019,\u201d Johnson continued. \u201cI just think people don\u2019t want tough fights at this point. Everybody\u2019s trying to wait out for a big money fight or something like that. People are being a little bit too choosy right now.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While Johnson is having a difficult time finding an opponent, he did admit that Evan Dunham is being considered as an option, and that he’d be happy to fight the disgruntled Al Iaquinta if the bout was offered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting to hear back from a few people,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that [Evan] Dunham came across the list for International Fight Week. So we\u2019ll see how that plays out in the next few days.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIf Al wants to fight, we can fight,\u201d he continued. \u201cLike I said it\u2019s not that hard to find me, it\u2019s not that hard to get a fight with me. You just have to say something, and if we can make it happen, we\u2019ll make it happen.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the end of the day, of course, Johnson is just hoping a ranked opponent will sign on the dotted line in the near future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be somebody that\u2019s up towards the top of the list,” he said. “I don\u2019t need to fight anybody that\u2019s too far down the list. I\u2019m still at the top of this division. But you know, everybody\u2019s tough. The top-20 in this division are all tough, so I\u2019m just looking for a good fight.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Who do you want to see Michael Johnson fight next?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 5\/7\/2017.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Top-10 UFC lightweight Michael Johnson has not been seen in the Octagon since November of 2016, when he succumbed to a third-round submission dealt by undefeated Dagestani star Khabib Nurmagomedov. This, however, is not for lack of trying. Having recovered from his loss to Nurmagomedov, Johnson has been eager for a return to the cage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":209999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2674,10516],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Johnson says his lightweight peers are avoiding tough fights, too focused on 'money fights' | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"UFC lightweight Michael Johnson wants a fight, but he's having a hard time getting one, because nobody wants to accept a tough fight.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/exclusive-interviews\/michael-johnson-criticizes-lightweight-peers-nobody-wants-tough-fights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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